


Harry Potter and the Third Party

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-09-13
Updated: 2010-08-11
Packaged: 2019-01-19 02:36:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 151,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12401328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: An alternate to Half Blood Prince, as if that book never happened. It's the summer after Harry's fifth year, and he is once again, "The Boy Who Lived" but will his bad attitued, and dark forces at work within Hogwarts bring him down again? Also Cho struggles to do the right thing as her world falls apart around her.  ...





	1. Last Night on Private Drive

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

  


**Chapter 1: Last night On Privet Drive**

Harry looked up at the ceiling blurry-eyed from tears he had been crying for the past hour. He was glad to be alone. Ever since he had returned to Number Four Privet Drive, he had given the Dursleys fair warning to stay out of his way that summer, or he would have Mad-Eye Moody come and lay a dozen curses on them. He didn’t need the constant ridicule that he had suffered from them ever since he could remember. Now, he was in mourning for his godfather, Sirius Black, who had been killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in the battle at the Ministry of Magic, at the end of the last school year.

Harry had been full of rage lately. It wasn’t fair that he had had to endure all that had happened to him in his life. It wasn’t fair he’d had to suffer all the pain. He reflected on all the harsh things that had happened to him since his first year. The Dark Lord Voldemort killed his parents when Harry was just a baby. Then, having to live with a family who hated him until he was eleven, and then having to return to this house every summer. It wasn’t fair that he constantly had to return here. Harry was tired of constantly being the subject of abuse of his cousin Dudley for all these years.

And now his godfather, Sirius Black, was dead. Once his name had been cleared of killing Peter Pettigrew, the plan had been to have Harry come and live with him. He would have escaped the Dursleys forever. But now Sirius was dead, and not even a ghost Harry could talk to. And it was all Harry’s fault. At one time, Sirius had been going to kill Pettigrew, who had faked his own death after betraying Harry’s parents and framing Sirius. But Harry had asked him to spare Pettigrew’s life. He had been merciful, and it had cost Sirius, and Cedric Diggory, their lives. And these weak moments had also caused the return of Lord Voldemort.

Peter Pettigrew had revived the Dark Lord, and Voldemort was gathering an army to take over the wizarding world. Now Voldemort, who was responsible for the deaths of so many people that Harry cared about, was going to try and kill him. Dumbledore had said as much. He had said that in the prophecy, it was either Voldemort or Harry that was to die, to finish the war one way or the other. Harry had been having a constant nightmare every night and was full of hate and rage. He knew that sometimes the Dark Lord could read his thoughts. He concentrated on Voldemort very hard and thought, _“Well it isn’t going to be me who’s going to die! Do you hear me, you bastard! I’m going to kill you! I’ll make you suffer!”_

Suddenly Harry felt a sharp pain in his head, a searing wave of anger and hate emanating from his scar.

“Ahhhhhhh!” he screamed. His knees buckled, and he fell to the floor. Lord Voldemort had heard him, all right. The door flew open and Uncle Vernon looked into the room, his face pale and his eyes wide.

“Wh……what is it! What’s going on!” he asked. This was not his concern finally emerging; this was his fear of Harry.

“Nnn… nothing… go away,” said Harry.

“But, but… you…”

“ _I said get out!”_ Harry roared as the agonising pain in his scar caused him to clutch the carpet.

“Sor… sorry,” replied Uncle Vernon in a horrified voice, and closed the door quickly. The Dursleys had noticed that Harry’s attitude was such that he seemed to be ready to explode at any time, and had tried at all costs to stay out of his way. Fortunately for them, he spent most of his time in his bedroom. The pain in his head was subsiding and his breathing was returning to normal.

“ _That’s right, you bastard, you go and think about how I’m going to kill you off. Think of how I stopped you every time. You couldn’t even stop me when I was a baby. And soon… soon I’m going to be the one who comes for you. Soon I’ll have my revenge!”_ Harry felt a ripple of fear through his scar, but it didn’t come from himself. Harry knew that somewhere, Voldemort was not feeling too confident.

A smirk crossed Harry’s face. Yes, this sense of other people’s fear was quite a good feeling indeed.

Harry’s position at Number Four Privet Drive had changed. He was no longer the object of abuse now, but someone to be feared. He didn’t mind the change at all. In fact, he revelled in it. It was nice to be the one in charge for a change—Harry liked the fear that his power brought. He could make the Dursleys dance if he wanted them to. He didn’t even have to use magic; just the threat of it was enough to make their teeth rattle. Harry got up, went to his aunt and uncle’s room, and banged on the door.

“What! What is it?” came the frightened voices from the bedroom.

Harry opened the door and poked his head in. “I just wanted to remind you to make Dudley have my eggs and toast ready by seven. And don’t forget to have the living room cleared,” Harry stated in a confident tone.

Uncle Vernon’s face started to turn beet red. “Now see here, young man! If you think that-“

“ _Be careful!”_ shouted Harry, cutting him off mid sentence. His voice grew sinister. “I’d hate to tell my friends you mistreated me. Mad-Eye Moody can get very… unpredictable when he’s upset.” He smirked.

Uncle Vernon’s face went pale again. “No! I mean… of course Dudley will have everything ready for you at seven on the dot.”

Harry smiled mischievously “Good… well that’s that then, good night.”

“Good night” they said in quivering unison.

As Harry walked back to his room, he thought, _“Look at them, cowering! Serves ‘em right, the stupid dolts!”_

Of course, Harry knew the members of the Order of the Phoenix wouldn’t approve of the way he now treated the Dursleys. In fact, if they ever found out, he would most likely get into serious trouble. But the Dursleys didn’t know that, and what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. The Order members had threatened the Dursleys. They had to treat Harry well over the summer, or else the Order would come and have a not-too-friendly chat with them.

Still, they hadn’t intended to have Harry taking overt advantage of the family. But Harry didn’t care. He had just suffered a tremendous loss, and was feeling a tremendous thirst to lash out at whoever was near. It felt appropriate that it should be his former tormentors, the Dursleys.

Harry looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand; it read ten forty PM. He lay down on his bed and reflected on the past few weeks. Tomorrow would be a day of great sadness. Tomorrow Harry would put to rest the body of Sirius Black, his godfather, and the only real parent he had ever known. Tomorrow, at long last, Sirius would have a proper funeral, a proper send off deserving of a hero. Harry would have a long day, and it would be time for his hatred to turn to grief. _…Of a hero_ Harry thought as he drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2:Remus Lupin Returns

  


**Chapter 2: Remus Lupin Returns**

_Beep! Beep! Beep_! The blaring of the alarm woke Harry with a start. He turned his head to see the time: six am. Stretching his arms above his head, he let out a loud yawn. Then, remembering what the day’s events would bring, he became sombre.

He jumped into the shower to wake himself up. Under the hot water, he reflected on why Dumbledore had said it had taken so long to find the body of his godfather, Sirius Black. Dumbledore had said the curtains that Sirius had fallen behind were some kind of portal that the living could not pass through, and special means had had to be taken to bring the body back through. It had taken a while, but at long last, by saying the proper incantations and using a bewitched rope, they were able to bring the body back across the portal. Dumbledore had told Harry that he could not explain the meaning of the curtains, although Harry sometimes wondered if he just _wouldn’t_ explain it. Dumbledore seemed to like keeping Harry in the dark. Harry scowled.

After his shower, Harry made his way into the kitchen, and saw Dudley waiting with his plate of eggs, toast, and jam. As he sat down, he looked over at the fearful expression of anticipation on Dudley’s face. Often, Harry would find something wrong with the plate and have Dudley remake the entire meal. But not today. Today, he was not in the mood to torment anyone, and even managed a vague, “Thanks.”

Dudley’s face flushed with relief, and he sat down to eat his own meal. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had not yet entered the kitchen and were not likely to until well after eight, especially with the prospect of an Order member coming through the Floo Network to fetch Harry for the funeral of his godfather.

At around seven thirty, Harry sat down to read the Muggle news in a chair on the side of the cleared out living room. He looked over at Dudley in the kitchen. Dudley was fidgeting in his seat nervously. Harry decided to cut him some slack.

“You can go upstairs if you want, Dudley. My friends will be here soon,” he said casually.

“Thanks, Harry!” exclaimed Dudley, who was only happy to take the stairs three at a time to escape being present for any arrival of a wizard coming through the fireplace.

Harry went back to the paper, and wondered whom the Order would be sending to pick him up. _Most likely Mr. Weasley_ he thought.

At three minutes to eight, a rush of green flames lit up the Dursleys’ fireplace. A well-dressed but sombre-looking man with light brown hair stepped through the fireplace, and Harry recognized him at once.

“Lupin!” Harry ran to hug his former Defence against Dark Arts teacher.

“Hello, Harry, how have you been holding up?” he asked weakly.

“Oh, as well as can be expected, I suppose,” Harry replied.

Patting Harry on the back, Lupin put his hands on Harry’s shoulders and looked down into Harry’s eyes. “Listen, Harry.” Lupin had the beginnings of tears in his eyes, but he wiped them away before they had time to develop. “I… I just wanted to say again that Sirius… he was my best friend. My very best friend and I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone in how you’re feeling today. If you need to talk to me about anything, I’m here for you.” A single tear escaped his right eye.

Harry looked at Lupin’s sombre face. He knew that Lupin was truly feeling as grieved as he was. Lupin was the one person that Harry could write to from time to time about Sirius’ death. He’d been the only one close enough to Sirius to know how Harry felt.

“Thanks,” said Harry. “It really means a lot to me that you’re here for me.”

Lupin forced a small smile, stood up, and looked around the room. “Where are your relatives? Didn’t they want to see you off?” Lupin asked, slightly puzzled.

“Ha! No, they wanted to avoid meeting an Order member at all cost,’” Harry replied, slightly amused at the idea of the Dursleys giving him a warm send off.

“Why?” asked Lupin, a little suspicious. “They haven’t been mistreating you, have they?”

Harry smiled to himself. _Oh, if you only knew_ , he thought to himself. “No, they’ve been okay. They just don’t like wizards,” he replied.

“I see,” Lupin replied, mildly offended. “Well, are you ready, Harry?” he continued.

“Okay, sure, just one question. Where did you get the nice robes?” Harry asked with wonder.

Remus Lupin looked himself over, embarrassed. “Oh… I… Sirius had some money that he left me, as well as you, in his will. I just wanted to look good on the day we honour him. You’ll find out about your inheritance later, too.”

“Oh,” said Harry, not really caring about the money, but a bit curious to know why he hadn’t been told of the reading. “I guess I’m ready.”

“Good, I’ll lead the way.” Lupin handed Harry a handful of Floo Powder from his pocket. He then took out some more and threw it into the fireplace, which lit up with emerald flames.

“Now, repeat after me, Harry, clearly: Benedictions Georgious, Funeral Home!” Lupin shouted as he stepped into the emerald fire, and was swept away.

Harry threw his own Floo Powder in and was transported out of the Dursleys’ living room and into another fireplace that opened into a large study, where Lupin, Tonks, and Mundungus were waiting for him.


	3. Chapter 3:The Funeral of Sirius Black

  


**Chapter 3: The Funeral of Sirius Black**

Harry looked around the room at the shelves of books, the mini bar, and the large globe that sat by the door. The room was brightly lit by torches with an ancient look, but had fires that glowed like the florescent lights of any modern office building.

In the center of the room were Remus, Tonks, and Mundungus.

“Wotcher, Harry,” said Tonks, who was fitted in a proper dress, with her now brown hair in a ponytail. It was the first time Harry had seen her look so normal, although he didn’t mind the controversial in the Wizarding World look she usually displayed.

“Lo, ‘arry,” stated Mundungus, who was wearing a large trench coat that didn’t appear to be filled with loot. At least not yet.

“Hello, all,” Harry replied gloomily.

“Well, the room is this way.” Lupin gestured with an open hand, and Harry followed Tonks and Mundungus into a hall that led to a large, pew filled room. In the room, Harry saw Hermione and the Weasley family, minus Percy and the twins, sitting in the pew at the front on the right. Apart from them, the room seemed empty except for an old, grey bearded wizard in black robes, who was standing in front of the casket. As Harry approached the front row, he was spotted by Mrs. Weasley, who hurried over to him and threw her arms around him.

“Oh, you poor dear,” she sobbed. “Harry, I’m so sorry, you poor thing! How are you holding up?” she said, as tears continued to trickle from her eyes.

“I… I’m managing,” Harry replied blankly.

Mr. Weasley came up to him next. “Harry, I just wanted to know if you would like to come to the Burrow afterwards. We would love to have you for the rest of the summer,” he said, with a reassuring smile.

“Yeah,” said Harry, “I’d like that a lot. But all my things are at Privet Drive.”

“Don’t worry, dear, we can send for them,” Mrs. Weasley replied in a soft voice.

“All right, thanks,” Harry replied as he moved past Charlie and Bill. They each greeted him quietly.

He then came to Ginny. “Hello Harry, how have you been?” she asked, in a genuinely concerned tone of voice.

“Oh, well, not too bad,” he replied.

“Well, we’re glad to see you again,” she whispered, and gave him a quick hug before she sat down.

Harry looked next to see Ron and Hermione motioning to him to sit beside them.

“Hey, Harry…” Ron seemed like he wasn’t sure of how to address Harry on this occasion. Hermione was drying her eyes, and she reached across Ron to give Harry a hug.

“Harry, I… I…” she sobbed, “I’m here for you if you want to talk.” She could barely choke out the words.

“Thanks.” Harry smiled. He looked around the room, but there were no other people coming. “Where are Fred and George?” Harry asked, a bit puzzled.

Ron looked embarrassed. “Well, Harry, they… they couldn’t get away from the shop. They’re piled with loads of work. I mean, it did just open recently. But they told me to tell you how sorry they were that they couldn’t make it. And they sent that wreath!” Ron pointed to a beautiful large green and red wreath by the casket that read: Sirius, we will miss you. “And they paid for the plot and tombstone,” Ron said, looking sideways at Harry to see his reaction.

“Oh well, that was nice of them,” replied Harry. Harry understood, as their shop was quite popular. And besides, they really hadn’t known Sirius that well.

He took another look around and noticed others missing now. “Where are Dumbledore, and McGonagall, and the other members of the Order?” Harry asked blankly.

“I dunno,” Ron replied honestly.

Harry took another look around and saw Tonks and Mundungus by the door, looking serious manner. Mundungus had his hand in his trench coat, and Tonks had hers in a pocket on the side of her dress. He guessed they were on guard duty.

Lupin was sitting on the left front pew looking very distraught. Harry called to him in a loud whisper. “Professor Lupin! Professor Lupin!”

Lupin looked over at him, and rose to talk to him. “What is it, Harry?” he asked in a barely audible voice.

“Where are Dumbledore, and the others?” Harry asked.

Lupin blinked in surprise. “Well, they’re on assignment for the Order,” he said calmly.

“Okay, but where is Dumbledore?” Harry asked again.

Lupin looked confused at Harry’s lack of comprehension. “I just told you, on an important assignment for the Order.”

Harry’s expression changed to one of anger instantly. “What!” he shouted. “What’s so important that he can’t be here to say goodbye to Sirius?” Harry’s cheeks were now turning a bright shade of red, and his eyes were smarting suspiciously.

“Harry, there’s important work to be done. We’re at war and…” Lupin began, but Harry cut him off.

“To hell with the war! Dumbledore should be here to see Sirius off. He owed it to Sirius to be here!” Harry’s voice was shaking with rage now, and everyone was looking at him.

Lupin remained quiet and calm, but there was a sense of panic in his voice. “Harry, don’t you think he wanted to be here? There are things we can’t tell you that…”

Again Harry cut Lupin off. “Yes, I know! I know how Dumbledore likes to keep me in the dark about things that concern me. About important things, everything I should know about. Well I’ve had enough of his excuses! There is nothing more important than his presence here right now is. He’s… he’s ungrateful to those who give service to him, that’s what he is!” Harry was not even trying to keep his voice down or control his rage anymore. Harry had had just about enough of Dumbledore keeping him in the dark about Voldemort and the Order.

“Please Harry, not now! This isn’t the time. He really is on an important mission for the war that’s coming.”

Harry relented as he saw the tears in Lupin’s pleading eyes. Lupin had come here to say goodbye to his best friend and Harry had come to say goodbye to his godfather.

“Fine, another time,” he said, not wanting to upset Lupin any further.

“Ahem!” Harry turned his head to see the old wizard in black clear his throat. He spoke with a clear Welsh accent. “We are here today to pay tribute to Sirius Black, to his memory and to his dedication to doing the right things in life. Sirius was a brave man, who gave the ultimate and most noble sacrifice to stop You-Know-Who and his minions and to protect the good people of the wizarding world…”

Harry listened to the speech by the old wizard, but in the end he wasn’t impressed. It seemed like he didn’t know Sirius and it was a eulogy that could have been written for anyone. Harry didn’t blame the man. He’d never seen him before, and guessed he was just the person on duty. No. Harry had someone else in mind that he believed shouldered the lion’s share of the blame for the weak showing at the funeral. Dumbledore! Dumbledore, who should be here in this man’s place giving this speech!

_What an insult!_ thought Harry. Surely someone else could have gone on the mission in Dumbledore’s place. Harry would have words with him another time.

“And now I would ask members of the family, and friends, to come up and say a few words about this good man, Sirius Black,” said the old wizard.

Lupin was the first to move up to the podium. “Sirius Black was my best… best friend. He was the best friend anyone could have. He was brave and noble and generous…” Lupin recounted several stories from their school days together and Harry hoped that the story of jinxing Snape would come up, but it didn’t. Lupin ended with, “I will miss you, my good friend.”

Then each of the Weasleys and Hermione took their turn to speak. They all tried to say nice things about Sirius and say as much as possible, but it seemed repetitive, and they just didn’t know him well enough. Tonks took her turn, but mostly apologized for not knowing her third cousin better. Even Mundungus tried to say something nice, but it ended in disaster. “Err… nice man… brave… um, had a lot of silver around the house. Uh? Kind-hearted. Said I could have that expensive tea set. Mmmm… he was a wealthy man,” Mundungus stammered.

Lupin came up to politely guide him to his seat. “That’s… that’s enough. Thank you, Mundungus.”

The old wizard looked to Harry now. “And now will his godson, Mr. Harry Potter, like to say a few words?”

Harry moved to the podium and looked at the near empty room. It wasn’t fair! Sirius was a great hero. The pews should have been filled, and yet there were only twelve people in attendance including Harry himself.

Harry began, “My godfather Sirius Black was a great hero! He was a man of great courage. He died fighting evil. The pews should be filled here today. Sirius deserves a hero’s funeral. He was the best godfather anyone could have had. He was murdered by Voldemort’s servants and… **and he will be avenged.”** Harry’s rage surfaced again. **“I will avenge him!”** Harry was now shouting at the top of his lungs. **“I will kill the Dark Lord!”**

Everyone in the room was sitting with their mouths open in shock. Harry had a fire in his eyes that literally scared his friends and family. Ron slid down in his pew and Hermione let out uncontrollable sobs. Mr. and Mrs. Wesley were holding each other tightly, and Bill and Charlie just looked at each other, dumbfounded.

“I loved Sirius, and Voldemort took him from me. I will have my revenge **,”** Harry sobbed. Tears were flowing from his eyes now, and Lupin came up to pull him back to the pew.

“I…will…have...revenge,”Harry said between sobsLupin hugged the boy tightly and Harry went limp in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

“There, there, it’s going to be all right. Just let it all out,” Lupin said in a soothing manner.

After a while, Harry composed himself and sat next to Lupin in his pew. Lupin put his arm around Harry, comforting him.

“And now,” stated the old wizard, apparently unaware of what had just happened, “we commit the body of Sirius Black to the crematorium, and his soul may be at peace.” The wizard pulled out a wand from his robes. “Alohomora!” he said, and two doors behind the casket opened to reveal an empty room with several holes on the walls and floor. He then used the Levicorpus charm to move the coffin into the room.

It had just started to sink into Harry what was going on. He stared transfixed at the coffin and asked Lupin, “Wait! Did he just say crema…?”

The old wizard flicked his wand at that moment.

“Incendio!”

The holes in the coffin room blasted fire at the coffin.

“No! No!” shouted Harry. “You can’t… he…”

The old Wizard flicked his wand again. “Colloportus!” he ordered, and the doors slammed shut.

Harry’s face was white with shock, and with his eyes rolling back in his head, he blacked out immediately.


	4. Chapter 4: The Burrow

**Chapter 4: The Burrow**

“Harry… Harry, wake up, dear… Harry, wake up,” said the gentle voice.

“Wha… Where am I?” he groggily replied, his vision blurry from just being woken up.

“You’re at the Burrow, dear,” added the voice he now recognized belonged to Mrs. Weasley.

“Oh, I… what happened?” he replied.

“You fainted, dear. You’ve been passed out since we left the funeral home,” said Mrs. Weasley softly.

Harry’s eyes and mind were now coming into focus. “Oh! **I remember. Oh my god! They burned him! They burned Sirius,”** Harry screamed in horror.

Mrs. Weasley patted Harry on the shoulder to console him. “Shhh, calm down, it was all in accordance with his wishes, Harry. It was apparently laid out in his will. Sirius wanted it that way,” she informed Harry.

Harry was now fully aware of himself. “But will… his will. Why wasn’t I at the reading? He was my godfather! Surely he had to mention me.” Harry could not believe he had not been summoned to the reading.

Mrs. Weasley looked at him as if searching for the right words. “Well, Dumbledore thought that after everything you went through last school year, that you would be safer at Privet Drive, he…”

Harry sat shot up to a sitting position in bed, anger on his face. **“Dumbledore thought! Dumbledore thought! I couldn’t give a toss what that heartless bastard tho…”**

**_Slap!_** The open hand hit him with full force, knocking his glasses to the floor and stunning him. Mrs. Wesley gasped at her action and threw her arms around him. “Oh Harry! I’m so sorry, I…it’s just that I often think of you as my own son, and I can’t allow you to say those things about Dumbledore. I’m so sorry!” she sobbed.

The slap had sobered Harry up as to how badly he had hurt Mrs. Weasley. No matter what his problem with Dumbledore, Mrs. Weasley had always been so very kind to him, and here she was telling him he was just like one of her own sons to her.

“It’s… its okay. I’m sorry, really. I should never have used that type of language, I apologize,” Harry said, ashamed of himself.

Mrs. Weasley picked up his glasses off the floor. “Harry, I… Dumbledore really cares about your well-being; he really does want you to be safe, and feels that if you don’t know certain things, it can protect you. I know it seems hard to understand now, but one day you will see.” Mrs. Wesley was not lecturing Harry, but trying to make him understand in a civil voice.

Harry didn’t want to cause Mrs. Wesley any more stress. He would deal with Dumbledore on his own time. “Okay, sorry,” he said.

Mrs. Weasley smiled. “Okay, Harry. Now come along. Dinner is ready, and we have steak and kidney pudding, and baked potatoes, and fish and chips.”

“Sounds great!” said Harry. “How long have I been out of it?” he asked curiously.

“Hours, dear—we wanted to let you rest. It’s been a hard day for you,” Mrs. Weasley stated calmly.

“I just didn’t expect them to do that with his body. I didn’t know they were going to…to…” Harry stammered.

Mrs. Weasley gave him another hug. “It’s okay, dear, everyone understands. Now let’s go. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are waiting for you downstairs.”

Harry followed Mrs. Weasley downstairs into the kitchen, where his mates were waiting for him with worried looks on their faces.

“Are you all right, Harry?” asked Ron nervously.

“Yeah, I’m better. I’m really good.” Harry looked around the kitchen, and into the living room. “Where is everyone else?” Harry asked as he sat down at the table to cut up his steak.

“Well, Lupin, Tonks, and Mundungus had to go do work for the Order, and dad had to work at the Ministry. He could only get half the day off. Bill went to visit Fleur Delacour. Charlie was only here for the funeral. He had to catch a Muggle flight to the Czech Republic to do some work with dragons,” Ron explained.

“Dad ‘ll be writing to him every day about that!” chimed in Ginny.

“Yeah, I guess everyone’s really busy,” Harry said, and dug into his steak. “Well, what’s been going on with the Order? No one tells me anything. _Dumbledore’s_ orders I suppose.” Harry had said his headmaster’s name with a note of disgust that everyone ignored.

“Well Harry, there’s really not much to tell. It seems that Voldemort has been lying pretty low after the defeat of his Death Eaters at the Ministry. A lot of the Order members are scouring the country looking for him. A few Order members are now guards at Azkaban, now that the dementors have left to join You-Know-Who.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll go to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies. I’ve got the list of books you’ll need,” Mrs. Weasley said, changing the subject and handing the list to Harry, who looked over it.

** List of titles that 6th year students will need to purchase **

**_Potions, the Ultimate Guide,_ by Azeri Loki**

**_Charms, Accelerated Edition,_ by Inchatia Valourom**

**_The Ultimate Pre-N.E.W.T. Study Guide to Transfiguration,_ by Minerva McGonagall**

**_Care of Magical Creatures: Walking in the Land of Giants,_ by Vincent Peterzoon**

**_Hogwarts: A History,_ by various contributors (see credits)**

**_The Complete Guide to Muggle Studies and Relations,_ by Jane Bromhead and Thaddeus Bogs**

**_Seeing Tomorrow,_ by Glades Stargazer **

**_Herbology through the Ages,_ by Stanley Swampland **

**_All books indicated with are optional classes for 6th years._ **

“’ang on! Professor McGonagall wrote a book? When did she have time to do that with all that’s been going on?” Harry asked in amazement.

“Oh Harry, Minerva’s been trying to get that book approved for ages. I’ve talked to her about it. She wrote it in your and Ron’s first two years—it was just approved by the Ministry this year,” replied Mrs. Weasley happily.

“Is it safe for us to go to Diagon Alley with everything going on, mum?” Ginny asked.

“Well You-Know-Who’s lost a lot of his Death Eaters, but the Order is sending a bodyguard for us in the morning. I don’t know who though,” replied Mrs. Weasley.

After everyone finished their meal, Ron suggested that they go into the den and play a few games of _Wizard Trivia_ , a game that he had just bought over the summer.

“Great!” Harry said. He began to follow everyone into the living room.

“Harry, just a minute. I need a word with you in private.” Mrs. Weasley’s tone was serious.

“Okay, Mrs. Weasley. Be with you guys in a minute,” Harry called to the other three.

“Harry, please sit down.” Mrs. Weasley motioned to the chair across from where she sat. She rubbed her eyes, and it looked to Harry that she couldn’t decide where to begin. Finally, she found her words. “Harry, I… You’ve been through a lot in your short life. More than any adult I know. More than anyone should have to endure. And this latest tragedy… well, Arthur and I were talking to Hermione’s parents the other day when they dropped her off, and…well, you know how I don’t approve of most Muggle…err… ways of dealing with people who hurt. But the Grangers were talking about…” Mrs. Weasley looked at a piece of paper she had taken out and put on the table, and read it to herself, then looked up again at Harry. “The Grangers were talking about these physic… psychiatrists that they have, and they… they go to school to study how people think. They are supposed to be able to help people who have suffered a great loss. To help you feel better. Like a happiness charm, only more permanent. And after… You know, how upset you were after the funeral, I wanted to ask… Harry, would you like to see a psychiatrist?”

Harry was really surprised that Mrs. Weasley would even consider Muggle science to help. She must really be worried. “Mrs. Weasley, I’m alright. Really I am. Dumbledore…” the name left a sour taste in his mouth, but he managed to say it, and sound casual with effort, “…said it was my destiny to kill Voldemort.” Harry paused as Mrs. Weasley gasped. “I’ve accepted that, and I just got a little passionate today. But really I don’t need a psychiatrist. But I appreciate your concern.” Harry smiled at her reassuringly.

“All right, dear. Just let me know if you want to talk,” she said.

Harry nodded. “I will,” said Harry, and he started to leave. But half-way to the living room something stopped him, and he turned back to face Mrs. Weasley. “Mrs. Weasley, about what you said in the bedroom. About me being like a son to you…. Thanks.”

A wide smile came across her face. “I meant it. Now go and join your friends, dear.”

After the tenth session of _Wizard Trivia_ , in which Hermione won with over one-hundred points more than everyone else, it was time for Harry to ask about the events of the summer.

“So Ron, what have you been up to this summer?” Harry started.

“Well, a lot really. We got to visit dad at the Ministry. He’s not really happy with the new Minister for Magic, Albert Jefferson. Worse than Fudge ever was, dad says. He’s got a particular dislike for Muggle relations. The new Minister says that we wouldn’t have such problems as You-Know-Who if we’d keep the wrong people out of our schools and offices. He says letting too many Muggleborn kids into our schools is what’s upsetting all the purebloods, and as he put it, causing fine, decent citizens like Lucius Malfoy to join terrorist groups like the Death Eaters.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Since when was Lucius Malfoy ever an upstanding citizen? Doesn’t the Minister know that he was a Death Eater before Voldermort’s return? I mean, what’s he ever done to deserve such a title as upstanding citizen?”

Ron nodded his head but gave an explanation for Jefferson’s comments. “Officially he is still listed as being innocent, because he was under the Imperious Curse back then. And they checked his public history. He’s given loads of money to popular charities. Many people are arguing that he both fell in with a bad crowd, and should be shown leniency, or he was again under the Imperious Curse. Fortunately, he’s the only Death Eater popular among the public. Everyone’s calling for the rest of the lot to be hanged. I guess when their trials start we’ll be called in to testify against them. But anyway, a lot more people are turning to the fact that You-Know-Who is coming back, and despite his apparent prejudice, the new Minister for Magic is raising an army to be ready to fight him.”

Harry was a bit confused. “But Ron, why would anyone elect someone like him to be Minister for Magic? I mean, are there not more half-blood and Muggleborn wizards and witches to vote for a better candidate?”

Ginny cut in before Ron could say anything. “Dad says that Fudge had just recently been re-elected before the tri-wizard tournament, and his suicide caught everyone off guard with the next elections sometime off. So the new Minister wasn’t voted in, but appointed. I guess we can get him out when the next elections occur, but we’re stuck with him until then.

Harry face was flustered. “Just great,” he thought “Another git sitting in the highest post in the magic world, and worse than Fudge.”

But Harry was still holding out for some good news. “And what else has been going on?” he asked.

Ginny again answered eager to fill him in on missed events. “Dad took us to London to see the Muggle sights. But he got a bit confused at some of the things like computers and fax machines. We practically had to drag him out of every shop to give the storekeepers some relief from all the questions. He did seem really sad every time we passed a car dealership. I think he really misses our car, but we really can’t afford another one right now.”

Harry and Ron looked at each other, full of guilt. It had been their rash, irresponsible action, that had caused the loss of Mr. Weasley’s car in their second year, but Harry never realized that Mr. Weasley missed it so much.

“Bill is really into Fleur Delacour. I think he’s in love. Also Charlie’s’ met a Czech girl that he fancies who also works with dragons. So I think he intends to stay in Eastern Europe for a while. I overheard mum say that he asked Dumbledore for a more permanent assignment there. And I…”

Ginny was interrupted by a tapping on the window, and everyone looked to see Pigwidgeon flying around outside the living room window.

“Blimey! Already?” Ron said he got up and opened the window. Pigwidgeon flew onto Ron’s shoulder and held out his leg. “I can’t believe it,” he said as he took the parchment off the owl’s leg, and read the name of the sender.

“Who’s it from, Ron?” Harry asked, genuinely curious.

“Loopy Luna Lovegood! She writes to me every week, sometimes everyday, and usually sends me a free article of the Quibbler.”

Harry heard a giggle from Ginny and he thought a “Humph!” of disgust from Hermione, who looked none too pleased at the announcement of the sender.

“Really? She’s been writing to you? What did she say?” Harry asked with anticipation.

Luna Lovegood was the one student at Hogwarts he felt he was going to be able to talk with about his godfather’s death. She had seen her mother die when she was very young, and Harry needed someone who understood what he was going through when Lupin couldn’t be there.

Ron began to read the letter aloud to everyone.

**_Dear Ron,_ **

**_Dad and I are now back from Sweden, and we managed to catch an actual Crumple Horned Snorcack. We’ll have pictures in the next issue of the Quibbler, and my father’s going to loan it to Hogwarts for our Care of Magical Creatures class this year. He had to go to St. Mungo’s for frostbite from it. Did you know that when we hosted the Triwizard tournament, that the Yule Ball was such a success that myself and most of the other girls at Hogwarts started a committee to have an annual ball at the school. This year the staff finally agreed. I can’t wait! Anyway, how are you? What have you been up to since your last letter? Tell Ginny I said hello, and tell Harry to write to my friend Cho Chang when you see him._ **

_**Miss You,** _

**_Lunaï�Š_ **

Ron raised his head to look at everyone. “What does she mean, what’s been going on since my last letter? I wrote to her a week ago telling her what I would be doing. I didn’t even think she and I talked all that much last year, and now it’s like I’m her best friend. And since when is there a committee to bring back the ball? No one told me,” he said, exasperated.

“Oh Ron, wake up! It’s obvious she fancies you. And Hermione and I told you and Harry about the committee to make the ball a yearly event a week after we had it. Don’t you remember?” asked Ginny.

Ron and Harry both shook their heads.

“Well, obviously it’s not as important to boys, but Hermione and I remember,” she finished.

“Loopy Luna fancies me?” asked Ron, genuinely surprised.

“Yeah! Are you so thick that you didn’t notice the way she looked at you all last year? And don’t call her ‘Loopy’. She’s a very sweet girl,” Ginny said proudly.

“Well yeah… it’s just that she acts like she’s’ a bit…”

“ **Brainless!”** Hermione shouted louder than she had intended, and she clasped her hands against her mouth to suppress her own gasp. Everyone looked at her, rather shocked. She set a more matter-of-factly tone. “I mean, she really doesn’t seem that bright, especially considering she’s in Ravenclaw. I just think Ron could find someone who’s more… more of a match for you, that’s all. Maybe you should let her down easily, Ron.”

“Let her down easily? I’m not even going out with her,” said Ron blankly.

Hermione looked pleased. “Good! I think you’ve made the right decision, Ron. Well done.”

“What was that part about me writing to Cho Chang?” asked Harry.

Ron read back over the parchment. “Oh Harry, you should write to Cho Chang,” Ron replied unimportantly.

“Why?” he asked, confused.

“I don’t know. She didn’t say.” Ron shrugged.

Mrs. Weasley then entered the room. “Okay you lot, it’s getting late. Off to bed you go. Harry, you’ll be up in Ron’s room with the twin beds.”

Ron and Harry lay in their respective beds in the darkness with their eyes closed, but not yet asleep.

After a long silence, Ron started: “Harry?”

“Yeah?” came the reply from the darkness beside him.

“Do you think Luna Lovegood’s beautiful?”

Harry thought for a moment, picturing her face. “Yeah, I do, why?”

Ron hesitated, and then spoke. “Well, what you think of her otherwise?” he asked.

“She seems nice. I plan to talk with her about… you know… about Sirius. She saw her mother die when she was nine, and I think that maybe she’ll be able to help me talk about it, y’know. I think she’s a really good person. She also showed a great deal of courage last year against Voldermort’s Death Eaters.”

“Eh… I wish you wouldn’t say his name,” Ron pleaded.

“Ron, you can’t keep being afraid of a name,” Harry replied.

“Who’s afraid? I just don’t like hearing it,” Ron replied defensively.

“Glad to know,” Harry added.

Ron pondered. “Do you think I should ask her out to the Yule ball?” he asked.

Harry thought about it for a minute. “Before then,” he replied. “That way the ball wouldn’t be such an awkward occasion for you.”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

After a few minutes, Harry turned to Ron. “Why would Luna want me to write to Cho Chang?” he asked.

“Dunno, weren’t you two dating last year?”

Harry reflected. “Not exactly: we had one date and she made it a disaster. She brought up Cedric, and seemed upset that I wanted to meet Hermione. I mean, I told her that she could tag along if she wanted to. Also she was always crying, and brought that stupid sneak of a friend of hers to my DA class, and got Dum…and got the class broken up. And then the silly git tried to make excuses for her friend, and looked like she was going to turn on the water works again, so I bit her head off!” Harry finished with an air of disgust.

“Yeah, well you spent a lot of time last year biting Hermione’s and my head off too, ever since you arrived at Grimmauld Place.”

Harry turned to Ron in the dark. “Well sorry, but you two were keeping things that I needed to know from me. You were also trying to keep me from rescuing Sirius.”

Ron let out a sigh. “But Harry, Hermione and I were right about not going to the Ministry.”

Harry was getting a little upset at being lectured this late. “Look Ron, the point is that I didn’t know that then, so it’s understandable that I was yelling at you two last year. I mean I had a lot on my mind, and you two are my friends and should understand that.”

Ron turned toward the ceiling. “Have you thought about Cho Chang at all this summer?” he asked.

Harry gave a disgusted sound. “I wouldn’t waste my time on a sobbing girl that’s obsessed with her dead ex-boyfriend, so much that she brings him up on our first date. I’ve got bigger problems than her. I’ve got bigger problems than anyone,” he said resentfully.

“God Harry, that sounds really harsh! I think she really liked you,” said Ron.

Harry closed his eyes again. “Yeah well, she never did anything for me. Now get some sleep. Good night, Ron,” Harry finished.

“Good night, Harry.” And Ron drifted off to sleep with dreams of playing for England in the Quidditch World Cup. But Harry was not so fortunate: He had the same dream that he always did. The dream that kept him waking up throughout the night. The dream that kept him deprived of badly needed sleep, the nightmare that he was being tortured and killed by Voldemort.

In the nightmare, Voldemort would finish him off with the Avada Kedavra curse. Harry would vividly remain asleep for the torture, and feel every minute of it, but when Voldemort hit him with the Avada Kedavra curse, Harry would always wake up in a pool of his own sweat. Was it such a wonder that he was always so cranky? Everyone should be more understanding towards him. No one had it as bad as him; no one suffered the losses he had.

That morning Harry did in fact wake up in a pool of sweat again. Fortunately, he was the first one up, and was able to hit the showers before anyone else.

After breakfast everyone was finally ready for the trip to Diagon Alley. At around eight, Mad-Eye Moody limped into the Burrow to escort all of them there. They would all be going through the Floo Network.

As they got ready to step into the fireplace, Moody asked Mrs. Weasley if he could talk to Harry in private for a minute before they left. “Err…Harry before we go, I’d like to have a word with you in private, really quick,” said Moody.

“Right, how about the kitchen?” Harry gestured behind him.

After they had left everyone in the living room, Harry and Moody sat down at the kitchen table.

“Harry, I’ve just come from the Dursleys and getting your things. And well at the beginning of the summer I had a talk with your Uncle. I warned him to treat you well, or I’d come and have a not-too-friendly chat with him. I think I came on a little too strong. When I came through the Floo the Dursleys were horrified, and Mr. Dursley begged me to spare him and his family. I think I came on too strong that day at King’s Cross station. It really wasn’t my intention to scare him _that_ bad. I tried to calm him, but he was in tears. I felt really bad and made my way out of there as soon as I could,” Moody finished.

Harry smiled at the picture of the Dursleys cowering and sobbing. “Look Mad-Eye, I think the Dursleys needed a scare. I only wish I could have been there to watch them squirm,” he said.

“Harry, it’s not good for the soul to delight in the suffering of others,” Moody said with an air of sternness in his voice.

“I guess that would depend on who the others are. They seemed to delight in my suffering all those years,” Harry said bitterly.

“Well you don’t want to be like them, do you?” Moody asked.

“I’m not like them. I’m better than them. I’m better than all of them put together. Haven’t you been reading the Daily Prophet? I’m _The Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived,”_ Harry said proudly of his titles.

“Well, _The Harry Potter,_ try not to get too big a head, vanity is never a virtue, and putting yourself above others alienates you from them,” Mad-Eye finished.

“Right,” said Harry. He was humoured at the thought that Mad-Eye Moody was giving him advice about alienating himself from anyone with his record of being a recluse.

“Well, chat’s over Harry. Let’s go to Diagon Alley. I’ll have Arthur try and calm the Dursleys in a few weeks,” Moody said as they returned to the fireplace.

Everyone reached into the black kettle to grab some Floo Powder.

* * *

 

 


	5. The Reflecting of Cho Chang

  


**Chapter 5: The Reflecting of Cho Chang**

The waiting room of the hospital intensive care unit was cold and sterile. The cleaning staff had just recently finished mopping the floor, and a fresh pine scent hung in the air. Rows of plastic orange chairs were propped against a wall, and in those chairs sat the room’s only occupant.

Just off her shift of working as a volunteer, and still in her candy striper uniform, Cho Chang began to reflect on her past few years. They had not been good to her. Her mum had been in and out of St. Mungo’s several times over the last four years. Each time the healers thought they had the problem solved, she would show symptoms of the disease that was slowly destroying her body. She had taken many potions, some of which had had terrible side effects. Many of the charms made her very groggy. Even Cheering Charms did not last long. Cho had spent two of the last three Christmases with her mum at St. Mungo’s. Often, her mum would be so sick from the treatments, she was barely conscious. When Cho had returned from a disastrous sixth year at her boarding school, her father had told her that the healers at St. Mungo’s had done all they could. The family should consider checking Mrs. Chang into a Muggle hospital, as they had made some advances in treating this particular disease. Cho was devastated, and this was piled on everything else that had happened to her. She felt so helpless when it came to her mother.

In addition to her mother’s illness, Cho had had other traumatic events in her life lately. In her fifth year at Hogwarts, her boarding school, her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, had been murdered at the end of term. Cho had really grown close to him and was only now fully moving on from the feelings and grief she’d held for him.

During her sixth year, things had not been any better. First, the Ministry of Magic, the government of the wizarding world, and the Daily Prophet, the wizarding world’s legendary newspaper, had been writing awful things about her childhood hero, Harry Potter. They were saying he was insane and delusional, and was liable to explode into violent rage at any moment. The Ministry implied that he was capable of harming other students, and a few of Cho’s fellow Ravenclaw friends had transferred schools to get away from him.

Cho could not believe that so many of her fellow students believed the lies. She knew it could not be true and became a champion for the cause of his innocence. But it was a lonely station to side with Harry Potter, and it didn’t exactly make her the most popular person in school to be defending a boy everyone else thought was mental. Now, he was no longer _The Harry Potter_ or _The Boy Who Lived_ , but “Harry Potter, danger to other students.”

Cho had been in several heated arguments with good friends who had said that Harry should be expelled. Most notable among them were her friends Beverly Jones, and her best friend Marietta Edgecombe.

Marietta had had a particular dislike of Harry Potter for a long time, one that Cho could not understand. And it was with Marietta that the most heated debates had occurred. And not just about Harry. Marietta and her friend Daniel had been picking on a girl named Luna Lovegood that Cho had been tutoring since her second year. Luna was a sweet girl who always seemed a little lost. People treated her badly, but Cho had managed to get her a few friends. Cho had made Marietta back off when she was around, but Marietta and her friends would continue to torment her when Cho was gone. So Cho chastised Marietta, and lectured her about tolerance for others, and tried to get her to see that Luna was a nice person, just as she had tried to get her to see that Harry was a good person. Cho had always had a reputation of being an arbitrator, always trying to get people to compromise to get along. But Marietta and many of those closest to her were really putting her to the test.

Another event that school year had come after she convinced Marietta to join the DA. The DA was Harry Potter’s illegal Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The Hogwarts Grand Inquisitor, Professor Umbridge, had been sent by the Ministry of Magic to make sure the students did not learn anything to prepare themselves for the Dark Forces in the outside world. Umbridge dumbed down al studies so of course a student led Defense Against the Dark Arts class purposefully flouting her authority, was not going to be tolerated.

When Cho found out about it, she was elated. She had always had a crush on Harry Potter, growing up with him as the hero of her childhood. Once he had even asked her to the Yule Ball, but she had already agreed to go with Cedric Diggory. True to her loyal nature, she had to turn him down. But now she had a chance to actually help him out. She could do something to support him.

It was very secret, so Cho had to choose the people she would try to convince to join carefully. She had asked Beverly Jones, because she had in the past stood up for Beverly and even been sent to Professor Flitwick’s office for doing so.

However, Beverly was outraged at the idea of the illegal class, even though no one was a fan of Professor Umbridge. Many students were still convinced that Harry was going to go off at any moment, and he had been heard having rows with his best friends on more than one occasion. Beverly threatened to go to Umbridge, for Cho’s own safety, but Cho pleaded that Beverly say nothing, or else Cho would never speak to her again. So Beverly relented.

After a while, Cho had convinced three of her fellow Ravenclaw friends to go to the first DA meeting, and among them was Marietta Edgecombe. Cho knew that if Marietta could just see Harry and hear him out, she would see that he was actually a wonderful boy, and was telling the truth about You-Know-Who. She practically dragged Marietta to the meeting kicking and screaming, but she was Cho’s best friend and Cho knew that she could change her views about Harry and other people in general. She wanted to be a good influence on her friends, and she knew that if she worked hard enough, she could change Marietta’s mind about others.

At the first meeting, everyone signed a piece of parchment agreeing to never tell anyone about the class. _They could torture me and I would never tell,_ she thought as she signed the parchment.

Cho couldn’t take her eyes off Harry, and all the feelings she’d had for him since she first saw him, and the dreams she’d had about him her whole life, were welling up inside her. But Harry seemed to be avoiding her gaze. This hurt Cho. Perhaps he didn’t really like her. Maybe he didn’t know she existed, and he had only asked her out last year because he hadn’t made a date yet and he was desperate. But no, any girl would be honoured to be with Harry Potter. And last year he was still _The Harry Potter_ and not the _fallen hero_ people saw him as now.

Cho tried to stay after the meeting to talk to Harry, but every time, something seemed to come up and he disappeared. Things were going so badly for Cho this year, and she was still trying to recover from Cedric’s sudden death. She still didn’t have any details of what had happened. All the Headmaster had said was that You-Know-Who had killed him. But Cho didn’t know how, and she missed Cedric.

With everything on top of her mother’s illness, the events were taking their toll on Cho. She seemed to do nothing but cry all the time, and her grades were slipping. She was even doing horribly at Quidditch, her favourite sport. She felt she was due to have something good happen in her life, and aside from her mother recovering, the other thing she wanted was to be with Harry.

In addition to her romantic feelings for Harry, he had been the last person to see Cedric alive, and was present when he died. Cho needed to ask Harry what had happened that night, so she could close that chapter of her life.

After the last DA class before Christmas holiday, Cho finally found herself alone with Harry in the Room of Requirement, where the DA classes were held. She was feeling more depressed than usual that day, between a letter telling her that her mum would be in St. Mungo’s that Christmas again, and her desire to tell Harry how she felt about him. She was still feeling guilty about having deep feelings for someone else so soon after Cedric’s death, and there was the simple fact that she was feeling not at all well. All of it together was causing her to cry again, and all she could say to Harry was that she really fancied him, and to steal a kiss under the mistletoe. It was a beautiful moment, and Harry radiated heat like warm sunshine. Cho hadn’t intended to be crying when she kissed him, but she couldn’t seem to control herself. Nonetheless, it was the greatest kiss she had ever had, and she wished that the moment could last forever.

Eventually, Harry asked Cho to the Hogsmeade Valentine’s weekend, and finally her spirits began to soar! Maybe this was the break that was long overdue. Maybe now, something nice was finally coming her way. She wanted so much to be with Harry, that the second he had asked her on that date, she had planned to go to the most romantic places in Hogsmeade. Everything on that day would be perfect, even if the rest of her life was far from it.

When Cho and Harry had first met to go for the weekend, they had started off towards the town talking about a subject they both loved, Quidditch _. A great start,_ she thought as they laughed, and talked about past games.

However, when they reached Madame Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, Harry grew very quiet, and started ignoring Cho. She thought maybe he was angry with her, but couldn’t understand why. The atmosphere was very romantic and she looked into Harry’s eyes lovingly. She put her hand out on the table for him to hold as so many couples around them were doing, although they were also kissing. Cho had hoped that Harry might want to as well, and hoped seeing the other students would encourage him. But he really seemed to be working hard at not paying attention to her or anyone else. Cho had the idea to get him jealous by mentioning that Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, had asked her here, but she had turned him down. Cho said this to show Harry that she wanted to be here with him just as much as she said it to make him jealous. But it only seemed to distance him from her even more.

It was really becoming awkward now, and Cho was searching for something to talk about so she wouldn’t bore her date. She thought that he might still be hurting from Cedric’s death as she was, as he had seen him die. Talking about it would help bring them both closer to healing the grief, and would perhaps bring the two of them closer as well. She’d asked Harry about it, but it was a mistake, and he seemed to get offended. He’d stood up, saying that he had another girl, Hermione Granger, he wanted to meet now and Cho could tag along if she wanted to! Cho was devastated. How could he have another date? This day meant so much to her. It was supposed to be so special, and she was just one of many other girls to him.

She ran out of the shop crying after telling him how hurt she was. She couldn’t focus on anything after that, and she went through several weeks in a daze, not paying attention in class or at Quidditch practice. She begam to talk to Marietta about it, but Marietta kept saying he was dangerous and Cho should turn him in. Cho screamed at Marietta in a fit of rage until her throat was sore. She may be mad at Harry, but she knew he was telling the truth, and he was still her hero. She still believed in him. But she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. He had hurt her too badly. Whenever she passed him on the school grounds, she looked away because it hurt to know that she meant so little to him when he meant so much to her. More damning articles were coming from the Daily Prophet about Harry, and Cho still hated the way people talked about him, and she still got into rows with her friends about him.

Eventually, an article in a magazine called the Quibbler, owned by the father of Cho’s friend Luna Lovegood, came out and it contained an interview with Harry and a complete description about what had happened that day at the Triwizard Tournament, including You-Know-Who’s return, and Harry’s temporary defeat of him. Cho read the article over and over. Finally! This was what she needed to bring closure to everything. Now she knew what had happened.

She rushed to find Harry, and rebuild the connection that had been lost that day in Hogsmeade. It didn’t matter how many dates he’d had. He was worth Cho proving that she could love him more than ten girls, and she wanted him to know that she cared about him, and would always stand by him. Now, with this article coming out, many other students started coming over to Harry’s side, and started to believe what Cho had known all along. Harry Potter was a hero, brave and honest, and the Ministry was full of stupid gits, who were not to be trusted.

Cho came up and hugged Harry. “I always believed in you,” she said.

Now things were getting better for Harry, and Cho was so happy for him. They were on good terms again and she held his hand every chance she got. Things seemed too good to last. It turned out they were.

Eventually, Marietta Edgecombe ratted out the DA, and almost got everyone expelled. However, she had paid for it, because Hermione Granger had jinxed the parchment to spell out SNEAK in pimples across the face of any person who ratted out the club.

Cho was furious at both Hermione and Marietta. It seemed a sneaky thing to do to jinx the parchment without telling anyone, and she didn’t exactly like Hermione to begin with, seeing as she was the girl that Harry had left Cho for on Valentine’s Day.

But she was even angrier with Marietta. How could she betray the boy she knew Cho thought the world of? How could she betray all the other students, and how could she betray Cho? But Marietta had sworn that she’d only done it because she was afraid of her mother getting into trouble if the Ministry found out her daughter was in league with their enemy, and she thought that if she came forward, everyone would only get detention.

Cho accused Marietta of doing this because of her old prejudice that Cho had fought so hard to break her of. “You did this because of your hatred for Harry! Because of what he represents to you! You promised you would stop this, you traitor! I hate you!” Cho had cried.

But Marietta had returned, “No, Cho! I swear, I was only concerned for everyone else. I still think he’s dangerous. But you know I wouldn’t have turned him in for that! I promised you I’d change, and you know there were other purebloods in that class. I’d never betray them. I was really scared for my mother! And all of you!” Merritta gasped. “Oh, the pain. I can barely breathe. The scars hurt! Do you think I’ll die, Cho? Will you come to my funeral?” Marietta asked dramatically.

“Hey, Stop that. You’re not going to die, but we need to get you back to Madam Pomfrey if you’re hurting that badly.” Cho said nervously. Marietta now looked like she was in real pain, and for a moment, Cho worried that maybe Hermione had jinxed the parchment to kill. Marietta had changed a lot over the last few years, and not for the better, but surely she didn’t mean to really get anyone expelled. It was just a mistake, a horrible mistake. She couldn’t really have meant to cause so much trouble, and she had learnt her lesson, and then some.

A few days later, Cho ran up to Harry to apologize, to beg forgiveness for Marietta, and ask it for herself. It was all her fault that Marietta had been able to do what she did. Marietta never wanted to go. Cho had dragged her to the meetings. She had only intended to prove to Marietta that she was wrong about Harry and to support Harry, as the whole school was against him, and to do the right thing in general. So many things had gone wrong, and it was all Cho’s fault.

She started to apologize to Harry, but to her surprise, he started attacking poor Marietta, who was still complaining about the pain from the pimples on her face. Cho tried to explain that Marietta had only been afraid for her mother, who worked in the Ministry, and it was very hard on her. She also said that Hermione had been wrong to jinx the parchment without telling anyone.

When Harry started defending Hermione, Cho became jealous, and before she knew what she was saying, she blurted out, “Oh, so it’s always Hermione, is it!” Tears started to well up in Cho’s eyes as she thought that she would never win Harry back from Hermione now, and she could swear he was looking at her with hate in his eyes.

“Don’t start crying again!” Harry shouted.

“I wasn’t going to!” she lied, but she ran to her dorm room and did so for the next few hours.

The rest of the term, Cho couldn’t concentrate on anything. Her studies were failing fast, and Professor Flitwick brought her into his office to complain about one of his star students taking such a sharp drop so fast.

More time went by, and then it was Roger Davies complaining that she wasn’t paying attention at Quidditch practice. Her mind was focused on how she had ruined things for everyone, especially herself. She was feeling new emotions of hate for herself, of worthlessness. She just wanted to help everyone, and instead, she had messed everything up. Now Harry hated her. She still couldn’t do anything but think of him.

These thoughts were going through her mind as she slowed her broom and saw a gold flash under her nose, snatched up by a red blur as the Gryffindor Seeker grabbed the Snitch from under her nose.

She’d just lost the House Cup for Ravenclaw.

She’d just ruined everything for everyone again. As she always did. She wasn’t even paying attention to the game. _Why am I so stupid?_ she thought. She was so frustrated with herself, she slammed her broom down in disgust. She was the biggest dunce in the world, and it was affecting the boy she loved, her friends, and now her entire house. How did the Sorting Hat ever put someone as stupid as her in Ravenclaw?

One last time, she saw Harry in the halls at school, but she was about to tear up again and had to look away before she did. She was sure he hated her. It hurt so much to know it.

She avoided him on the train; she didn’t want him to yell at her anymore. Marietta tried to talk to her, but Cho wasn’t in the mood. She spent most of the trip back to King’s Cross crying in the lavatory, wishing she could take back everything.

A gentle hand on her shoulder shook Cho out of her lamenting trance.

When Cho arrived back at St. Mungo’s that summer, she went to the wing of the hospital where Marietta was undergoing several anti-jinxing treatments for her pimples. At first, Cho tried to comfort her, but all too soon Cho realized what a mistake she had made in defending her. Marietta had ranted about how she was going to kill that Mudblood Granger girl, and how she was mad and disappointed in Cho for befriending and going out with Mudbloods. She started on Cho’s friend Beverly again, and Harry Potter.

Cho was devastated. Harry had been right. Cho had had a duty to the boy she cared about to support him, and because Marietta was in such pain, and they had been friends for so long, Cho had defended her. All Cho’s efforts to change Marietta had been in vain, and all Marietta’s promises to change were lies, lies that Cho had believed because she wanted to believe that she could be a positive influence in someone’s life.

Cho had left Marietta’s wing of the hospital wing in tears and minus a best friend. The only bright side Cho could see was that at least she didn’t have to divide her time between Marietta and her snobbish pureblood friends, and Cho’s Muggle-born, half blood and kind pureblood friends. Cho had always hated having to arrange her schedule to allow time to be with all of her friends, just because Marietta and Daniel wouldn’t associate with those who weren’t purebloods.

_If you think that way, why aren’t you both in Slytheren?_ Cho thought. But Cho now realized that she couldn’t change anyone’s heart and soul. Marietta and Daniel would always hold those views, and nothing Cho could do would change that. _Just tack it on as one of her many failures,_ she thought bitterly.

A gentle hand on her shoulder shook Cho out of her trance, and back into the present again. “Cho, honey, the doctor wants to see us now,” said the voice of her father.

* * *


	6. The Muggle Hospital

  


**Chapter 6: The Muggle Hospital**

Cho looked up at her father through teary eyes, with a sad expression that had become all too common for her.

Pao M. Chang was a dark, athletic man, who usually had a cheery attitude in even the worst situations. He had always been the cheery spirit in the family. Cho envied her father’s positive outlook on life. She could never seem to come up with the optimism that he had had come naturally.

Mr. Chang had, until recently, been a lawyer for goblin affairs. He had run a successful practice on the outskirts of Motherwell, Scotland, until moving to London when his wife’s condition worsened, and she was put into Wellington Hospital. The healers at St. Mungo’s had reached the limits of which magic could be of help.

Now, Mr. Chang was working at Gringotts as an accountant in their Diagon Alley branch. He had landed the job thanks to the help of some of his goblin clients, who had been very grateful for his services in the past in a court case that had returned a large portion of goblin mining rights in the hills of Northern Wales.

But now, Mr. Chang was tired. Not from physical fatigue, but from having to watch the woman he had loved for twenty-four years go through an agonizing illness that no magic could cure. Now he was placing his hopes in science, Muggle science. He was hoping that the technological magic of their machines, and potions that they called drugs, could save the woman that meant more to him than life itself. Both he and Cho would gladly trade places with her to alleviate her pain, but that kind of magic didn’t exist when it came to this disease.

Cho and her father walked down the main hallway to a dark brown wooden door with a frosted glass window that had letters painted on it, reading **Dr. Claude Gardiah, MD Oncology.**

Cho’s father rapped on the door and a voice beckoned the two of them inside. They entered a small office with paintings of French countryside and several plaques and awards on the walls. A large wooden mahogany desk took up most of the room, and three black leather chairs surrounded it. Two of the chairs in front of the desk were empty, but in the third chair behind the desk sat an elderly gentleman in a lab coat, a stethoscope hanging around his neck. With a smile, he motioned Cho and her father to sit down.

Dr. Gardiah was one of the world’s leading oncologists, and had been taking care of Cho’s mother since she had been admitted to Wellington Hospital in midsummer. It had been Dr. Gardiah who had recommended Cho become a volunteer, since she was spending so much time at the hospital, not liking to be too far from her mother for any length of time. The doctor would even mentor Cho when he had a little time, answering many questions about the ingredients of the drugs, effects of the treatments, and purposes of the high-tech equipment in the hospital. The doctor thought Cho was a very bright young girl, very keen to learn, and very hard working. Dr. Gardiah was sorry to see Cho in despair so much of the time, but given the circumstances, it was understandable.

Still, he was proud of the way she was able to turn those emotions off, at least outwardly, to take care of her patients. Cho would put on a caring smile, and make sure the people she was attending received everything they needed. She was actually the most liked volunteer in the hospital. Dr. Gardiah had also observed that Cho was a dutiful daughter, always by her mother’s side when she could be. Her father had made her take weekends off to go out and be a normal teenager and have fun. In addition, Cho was attending driving school. But every minute she had free, she spent at her mother’s side.

The doctor rose from his seat and leaned over the desk to shake Mr. Chang’s hand. “Mr. Chang, how have you been holding up?” he asked.

“Oh, as well as can be expected, doctor. Chi is sleeping. She said she already talked to you in private. We would have preferred to be with her when you told her, but she insisted she wanted to hear the news from you, by herself. And now it’s our turn,” said Mr. Chang nervously.

“Yes, of course. You see, most of my patients like to hear any news, positive or negative, by themselves first. That way they can have time to recover from the shock, and explain to their family after they have calmed down. But Mrs. Chang was very insistent that I explain it to you, instead of her, as she was in a lot of pain, and wanted to rest as soon as possible. Before I begin, I wanted to ask Miss Chang, did you take the final test this morning?”

Cho raised her head. “Yes, I passed this time. Mrs. Younger said I should receive my card in about a week, just before I go back to school.”

Dr. Gardiah beamed. “Good, you passed this time! I knew you would. You’ve been doing a great job since you’ve started as a volunteer here. I’m very proud of you.”

Cho’s face turned a bright shade of red, and she looked away. “Th… thank you, Dr. Gardiah. I’m very grateful to have had the chance to help out,” Cho replied.

“Yes, we’ve been glad to have you. Again, well done.” Dr. Gardiah paused for a minute, and his face became grim. “Well, now to some bad news, I’m afraid. As you said, Mrs. Chang wanted to be alone when I gave her my findings. Well, after we performed the core needle biopsy, which draws a small piece of tissue, as opposed to just cells, we found that her tumours are invasive and they have spread. In addition, although the chemotherapy has shrunk the cancer cells somewhat, before she arrived here, the cancer had already spread beyond the breast.

“I don’t know what type of treatment they had given her at—St. Mungo’s, was it? But there should have been some treatments she needed that don’t seem to have been administered. Nowadays, we can catch **_Breast Cancer_** a lot earlier than in the past. Ordinarily, we would have performed a lumpectomy, which as you know, Miss Chang, is a breast conserving therapy, which involves removing the cancer from the breast along with a rim of normal tissue, and then removing the auxiliary lymph nodes. The auxiliary lymph nodes are located right at the edge of the breast, under the arm. Then we follow up with radiation therapy to the remainder of the breast.

“But, Mr. Chang, your wife’s condition is so advanced that this is no longer an option. So as the cancer has spread throughout the breast, I’m afraid that we must perform a radical mastectomy. What we’re actually going to do is a modified radical mastectomy, where we remove the entire breast, including the nipple and lower lymph nodes under the arm.”

“What?” Cho shot up out of her seat. “You can’t do that! There must be something else! Daddy, tell him to do something else!” Cho looked at her father pleadingly, awash with fresh tears.

“Cho, yo mei yo li mao!” her father shouted in anger, and he glared at her with dagger eyes.

Cho let out a whimper, and sat down, subdued and ashamed. She broke into uncontrollable silent sobs. Cho knew exactly what the procedure involved, as she had devoured every Muggle medical manual she could get her hands on, hoping to find a cure that Muggles had come up with. It seemed every treatment that the Muggles had was being used on her mum, but Cho was also trying to get a better understanding of the disease so she could come up with a cure on her own, so her mother could stop suffering and be healthy again. She knew that if she spent enough time studying, she could come up with a cure. She used to do so well in potions, and now she had to find a cure, soon, but the Muggle doctors wanted to start cutting off parts of her mother’s body. Cho knew that the doctors at Wellington hospital were kind people, particularly Dr. Gardiah, but the idea seemed so savage to her.

“Please excuse my daughter’s rude outburst, Dr. Gardiah, I am embarrassed. Please continue,” said Mr. Chang.

“It’s fine, Mr. Chang. You’ve all been under tremendous stress lately. It’s understandable. As the cancer has reached stage B, I’m afraid that a radical mastectomy is unavoidable. And then we will continue with the chemotherapy, and radiation treatment.”

After a brief pause Mr. Chang spoke. “Please excuse me, doctor, but the chemotherapy… my wife Chi says it hurts so much. She says it’s like putting “Drano” in her veins. Are there no other potions - I mean drugs, you can use?”

The doctor gave a sad sigh. “Well Mr. Chang, she’s not too far wrong. Chemotherapy is highly toxic, and although it does a good job at attacking cancer cells, it also attacks healthy tissue. We have to have someone constantly monitor the patient while administering it, because if it gets to the exposed skin, it eats through the flesh like acid. But the chemotherapy helps to shrink the size of the tumours and it is the best drug we have for that. If she’s in very serious pain now, I’ll authorize an increase in the dosage of morphine in her IV unit, to make her more comfortable.”

Mr. Chang nodded. “Doctor, my daughter’s outburst was disrespectful, but I… also have to wonder if there is not something else that can be done. I mean, some alternative. There are so many highly technical machines and drugs here. Surely some allow you to not have to cut into her,” he said in an almost pleading voice.

Dr. Gardiah looked down. “Mr. Chang, if we are going to save her life, this is the only way. But she can still live a long, healthy, happy life, if we can get all the cancer with this mastectomy. And when she’s ready to leave the hospital we can fit her with a very good prosthetic breast as well, if she wishes.

“She will feel a certain sense of loss for a while—it happens to all patients. But once we solve this case, there is no reason that she can’t continue just as she was before the cancer. A while after the treatment, if we get all of it, she can go hiking, sailing, or whatever other activities she liked to do.

“If either of you two have any questions, now is a good time to ask, as I’ll have her prepped for surgery on Monday.”

Cho, who was still racked with silent sobs, now looked up at her father pleadingly. Her tears were flowing quickly down her cheeks. Mr. Chang understood that Cho was desperate to ask about alternatives to the doctor’s treatment, and he knew that it would be an effort in vain. But perhaps she needed to hear it from an expert.

“All right, Cho, ask any questions you have now,” her father said.

Cho rubbed her bloodshot, puffy eyes, and began to speak as tears still ran down her face. Her words were hesitant and she choked on many of them. “Dr. Gardiah….I’m sorry…f…f…for my outburst earlier. I… I… was reading about… her… hormonal therapy… and… and it said… it said that it could block… the effects of hormones on the tumor cells… causing… causing them to d… die. We… could… give her… more…”

Dr. Gardiah interrupted Cho in a gentle voice. “Miss Chang, we are already giving your mother hormonal treatment. You know that. You ask me in detail very often.”

Cho wiped away more tears with the sleeve of her shirt. “I…I…know, but, but… if we gave her _more!”_ Cho pleaded.

“Miss Chang, I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. I’m sorry, but this mastectomy will save her life,” the doctor said compassionately.

“But… but I was reading about how… how… doctors in Canada were wo… working with lasers to get rid of the… tumours, and I thought that if…if we….” Cho struggled to get out the words.

Dr. Gardiah sighed again, and nodded his head. “Yes Miss Chang, I went to the seminar about it last year in Calgary, Alberta. But that’s for cancer stages 0 and 1. It doesn’t work when the cancer has spread this much. Stage III, or B, is just too advanced. But really, Miss Chang, we have pursued every option available to us, and have come to the conclusion that this is the only acceptable solution.

“Now, I know how you feel, but I also know that you’ve been studying **_Breast Cancer_** since your mum was admitted here. You know from your studies that we have to do this, don’t you?”

Cho looked up at the doctor one more time, and nodded. “Yes… yes… I… I know. But I’ve… I was trying to find a cure. I know I can. I just need more time. I’ve been trying…” She trailed off.

“That’s good, Miss Chang, but it takes several years of medical training to get a good understanding of what to try and do as far as research goes. Every doctor here, including myself, is trying to find a cure, and we have the help of doctors all over the world. One day we will find one, and maybe if you’re a doctor in a few years, you’ll play an intricate part in it. But until then, stop trying to take this burden on. It’s enough that you are there for your mother. I’ve seen you by her side almost every night, and it’s enough that you do that for her.

“Are there any other questions you have for me now? I don’t mean to rush you, but I’ve a very important meeting to go to in fifteen minutes.”

Mr. Chang said, “Well doctor, what time should we be back on Monday?”

Dr. Gardiah stretched his arms, and yawned. “Excuse me. A bit tired. You should both be here at about nine in the morning. I’ll be prepping her for surgery at ten, and performing the surgery at noon.”

Mr. Chang gave a wan smile, stood up, and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank you, doctor. Thank you for everything. If you’ll excuse us, we have to go and say goodbye to Chi for the weekend.”

As the two of them walked out of the office, Cho turned to the doctor. “Sir, I… I’m sorry about before; I’m just really scared.”

Dr. Gardiah gave a nod. “Miss Chang, at this hospital we have a very high recovery rate. I’ve seen patients even worse off than your mother make a full recovery. Just have hope.”

Cho nodded one more time. “I… I will, thanks, doctor. Thank you.”

Cho and her father now stood by her mother in her hospital room. Chi was not the only patient that occupied it. Another woman in her mid-sixties was visiting with family behind a closed curtain. Cho could hear them talking about how the woman was going home in a few days. The lumpectomy she had had rid her of all the cancer, and all her follow up tests came negative. She was going to go home soon with her son, and husband, and their mood was happy.

Cho was envious. She wished that they could be like that family, that her mother could make a full recovery from her **_Breast Cancer._**

“ ** _Breast Cancer,”_** Cho thought. What a horrible thing. It was a name that Cho feared worse than the name of any Dark Lord. It was the material of her nightmares to constantly have the image of her mum suffering. It was one of the few diseases that had the same name in the wizarding and Muggle world.

But why did the healers at St. Mungo’s not employ some of the Muggle techniques if magic did not work against this disease? Why had they not had her mother transferred to the Muggle hospital earlier? Because the thought of someone cutting on another person to help them get well was so foreign to the wizarding community? Possibly, but Cho wasn’t sure. She was learning a lot of things as a volunteer in the hospital that the wizarding world didn’t have, like first aid. Well, she had learned a similar temporary patch spell that was all well and good, but you needed your wand, and what if for some reason you didn’t have your wand with you? Why not learn some Muggle first aid, just in case?

It didn’t make any sense to Cho. She looked down at her unconscious mother lying in her hospital bed, hooked up to an IV that would every so often drip morphine to keep pain from her. Unfortunately, the morphine also put her mum to sleep often, or made her groggy, just like a lot of the charms used at St. Mungo’s to lessen the pain.

Cho thought her mother a beautiful, strong-willed person. Cho reflected on vivid memories of her mother teaching her how to swim, and going on hiking trips during the summer holidays, and even going to the goblin cart races with her parents. Her mum had always been so active and full of life back then, and now as Cho looked at her, her mum’s beautiful dark skin was a pasty yellow. The long, raven black hair that used to cover her mum’s head was now gone, lost to the chemotherapy.

But Chi Chang was still beautiful to her daughter, who wanted more than anything in the world for her to get better. Cho watched her father talk softly into her unconscious mum’s ear. He then kissed her on the forehead, and walked to the door with a sad look in his eyes. The men in the Chang family did not cry in front of anyone, but Cho knew he wanted to.

Cho gave her mother a tight hug, not ever wanting to let go for fear of losing her. But she let go after a minute, knowing it was time to leave. “I love you, mama. We’ll be back on Monday. The doctors are going to cure you. We’ll go and see the Tornadoes play again next year.” Cho kissed her mum on the cheek.

Cho and her father walked out of the room and made their way to the lift and from there to the car park, and they got in the van that her uncle had lent them. Then they started on their way home, down the narrow London streets.

“Dad, I was thinking. Maybe… maybe I should stay here this year. I mean, I need to be close to mum, and I know you’ll both need me. I’ll work really hard and-“

Her father let out an exhausted sigh. “No, Cho, that’s not going to help. Look, your mum wants you to finish school. It’s important to her that you graduate. Now look, I… I know you want to help, but believe me; your mother is in the best medical care in the country, and in fact in the world, Muggle or wizarding. You’ve been right by her side all summer, and she’s very proud of you, such a dutiful daughter, how could she not be? I’m also very proud of you, Cho. But this is your last year of school, and your marks have to improve. I don’t want to get another note from Professor Flitwick. He and I both know what high marks you’re capable of getting.”

Cho put her head on the cold window of the vehicle. The last year at Hogwarts, she thought… and not a clue what she wanted to do afterwards. She could go to the Healers’ school in St. Mungo’s South Wing for Advanced Magical Healing Training, or she could go to a Muggle university to study to be a doctor. Cho used to have dreams of playing Quidditch for the Tornadoes in the league, or even for Scotland in the World Cup, but those dreams were crushed when she kept losing her concentration last year, and lost the Cup because she couldn’t get Harry Potter out of her head. She vowed never to play again. All she ever did with it was let people down who depended on her.

_Yeah_ , she thought. _I can just see myself playing for the Tornadoes now. Not catching the snitch, and losing every game for them. I don’t belong anywhere near a Quidditch Pitch_.

Her father made a right turn onto Nelson Road. “Almost there,” he said. “Home and tea.”

* * *


	7. Squib in the Family

  


**Chapter 7: Squib in the Family**

The Changs were a pureblood wizarding family whose magical lineage went back thousands of years. Almost every wizard or witch in the extended family could trace their history back to the ancient nobles of the many dynasties of China’s past, and in the family’s past, purebloods did not intermarry with Muggles, in order to keep the magic users in the family continuous. However, in recent times, as wizarding science had proven that the lineage of a family did not determine whether the offspring would have magical capabilities or not, the Changs had agreed to allow relationships outside of the pureblood community. Despite the revision in policy, however, the Changs kept their preference of marrying and dating only pureblood magic users, and although no one before Cho had done so, the family certainly did not look down on her when she had started dating Cedric Diggory.

The one exception to the long-standing policy of Changs having relations in ancient times were family _Squibs._ Squibs were non magic users from predominantly magical families, who had the choice to have relationships with Muggles, or other members of the wizarding world. Squibs were never looked down upon in the family history, and were never historically chastised for relationships with Muggles.

Cho and her father had been staying with her uncle and his family since they sold their house in Motherwell. Cho Chang’s uncle Zhongyu Chang was a Squib who had left the magic world to seek his fortune in the construction industry as an architect. He was also a very capable plumber and electrician. He had married Ying Fong, now Ying Chang, who was a Muggle dentist. Cho’s uncle Zhongyu had three children of his own, the oldest of which was Sean Chang, twenty-five years old and working in China as a British Ambassador to their Ministry of Magic. Also there was Cho’s cousin Sally, who was a year younger than Cho, but had no magic ability. Finally there was Cho’s cousin Ling, who was only seven and destined to go to Hogwarts, as she had showed a lot of magical ability in the past.

The Changs of London lived in a tower of luxury flats in London’s West End. The Lord Nelson Tower arose thirty-five stories in the air, with the Changs occupying the twenty-seventh floor. Unlike regular flats, the rooms in the Nelson Tower were vast, and Cho’s family had decorated theirs in the style of a hodgepodge of items in different eras of Chinese history. To the casual Western observer it may seem to all flow together, but Cho thought it looked a bit thrown together to see woodcuts from the Tong Dynasty intermixed with vases, and furniture styled after the Ming Dynasty, and still see even more paintings and sculptures that looked as though they were taken from the Han Dynasty. But still, it looked more flowing than the house she and her father had just moved from at the beginning of the summer.

Cho reflected on the look of her living room at home, with still paintings of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders in victorious battle against the French, wood carvings of the Forbidden City in Beijing, and moving paintings of Scottish and Chinese wizards from various parts of history. The paintings must really be upset having to be kept in storage, she thought, but the move was so sudden that there was really nothing she could do for them until they found a new flat.

Cho was in her room, drinking tea with her two cousins and talking about Hogwarts and the wizarding world. They never got to see each other, so they were eager to catch up, and find out all about it.

“Tell us about the ghost again!” said Sally excitedly.

“Well, there are four of them: The Bloody Baron, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the Fat Fryer, and the Gray Lady—she’s the ghost for our house.”

“Are they scary!” asked Ling.

“No, not really. They are actually very friendly. Oh! I forgot one: Moaning Myrtle. She’s the ghost that haunts the girl’s lavatory. She was killed by a Basilisk a long time ago.”

“Well what about Quidditch?” asked Ling.

Cho looked away and lowered her eyes. “Ling, I… I told you I didn’t want to talk about that anymore.”

“Oh! I forgot. But why, it’s all you used to talk about. Did you get hurt again?”

Cho shock her head. The memory of losing the Quidditch cup for Ravenclaw, because she was so distraught over Harry, was fresh on her mind. “I just don’t want to talk about it. I’m sorry, really.”

Sally nodded her understanding. “Well, tell us what the houses are for again. How does the Sorting Hat determine what one you go into?”

Cho took a drink of the tea, and then began. “There are four houses, and the hat sorts you by your best attributes. Slytherin is for the most cunning and ambitious people. Then there’s Hufflepuff—that’s where the most hardworking and accepting of others go—and then Gryffindor, for the noble and brave, and Ravenclaw, for the most intelligent… um… I mean, except for me.” Cho looked down; Sally could see that Cho was upset about something. Cho had been very down on herself lately.

“Oh come on, Cho, you’re clever. I mean, look how quickly you learned to use my computer and phone—and you’re even going to get your driver’s license next week. All this while volunteering at the hospital,” Sally comforted.

“Yeah, I… wanted to thank you for that. I really think that the internet thing is really great. It helps when I can’t be at the library.”

Sally smiled. “No problem, Cho, but why don’t you start going to sites other than medical web pages and stuff like that. I mean there’s this great site you can download music videos from, and there are chat rooms other than the one for the cancer that you go to. It might be nice to try something different, you know.” Sally thought she’d cheer Cho up by talking about something she knew she cared about very much. “Um, so isn’t Gryffindor the House that **_the_** Harry Potter goes to?”

Cho’s mouth dropped. “Um… yes, he…” a tear emerged from her eye, “…he’s in Gryffindor. He… he’s the bravest.”

“And didn’t he kill that You-Know-What guy last year?” Ling added in.

“I, I don’t know. I mean, I never believe the paper usually, but I know that he could. He’s not afraid of anything. So maybe it’s true. It makes sense,” Cho replied.

“So you’ve actually met him then?” Ling continued.

“Um… yeah, we met.”

After a pause, Sally was getting anxious. “Well! What’s he like in person?”

Cho thought hard about how Harry had ignored her on their only date, and dumped her to go out with some other girl fifteen minutes into it. She thought about how he had bitten her head off when she tried to apologize. She was still hurting from it. She wanted to say that Harry was a mean, uncaring person, and that he didn’t care about who he hurt, or how much he hurt a person, but something stopped her. She knew this wasn’t true. He had faced so many dangers, and had so many friends… he must be a nice guy, and Cho didn’t want to think of him otherwise. There had to be something wrong with her. She just didn’t deserve to have someone like him care about her. She looked up at her cousins. “Well he… he’s very brave. I… we really didn’t talk much. He has a girlfriend.”

“Oh! I see,” Sally replied.

“Well how are Marietta, and Danielle, and Beverly?” Ling changed the subject.

“Um, well actually I don’t talk to Marietta and Danielle anymore. We had a falling out, and I realized what kind of people they are. I, I don’t like how they treat people, so yeah, we don’t talk. But… but I just got my thank you note from Beverly for her skirt and blouse that I got her for her birthday. I’m glad she liked it, and thanks for helping me pick it out for her,” she said with a weak smile.

“Wow, sorry to hear about Marietta and Daniel. What was the problem?” Sally asked.

“Oh, it’s personal,” Cho said flatly, not wanting to talk badly about anyone, even them. Anyway, it didn’t matter; the two of them were out of her life for good, and she was better off for it. Too bad that was the only thing she was better off for, she thought.

“Well hey. We’ve got some good news. We are going shopping tomorrow, and you’re coming,” Sally said happily.

Cho looked distressed. “Oh, I… no, I have so much studying to do. I have to find out more about curing…”

Sally cut her off. “Oh no you don’t, _Miss Chang_! We’ve already talked it over with Uncle Pao, and you haven’t allowed yourself any, **_you time_** all summer. You’re just promoting the stereotype that all we Asians do is study all the time and never have any fun, so come on and have some for once.”

Cho could tell it was important for her cousins to do this for her, so she hesitantly relented. “Okay, I need to buy some makeup, and maybe a few clothes for school. So I’ll go.”

Ling let out a happy cheer. “Yeah! I’m glad you agreed, we were ready to tie you up and drag you down there, but this way would be a lot more convenient.”

Cho gave another weak smile. “Well, I know I should get out more. A lot of my friends come from Muggle families, and it’s been cool to see how you lot live.”

Sally looked enviously at Cho. “Is it better in the magical world?”

Cho thought for a second. “No, just… different, really. I mean, a lot of my friends that are pureblood have never even seen a telly. We have radio, but just one channel. All the pictures in the wizarding world move, but we don’t have anything as cool as the internet.”

“Why are the worlds separated? Why aren’t most Muggles allowed to know about it?” asked Ling disappointedly.

“Well, a long time ago, Muggles used to burn witches and wizards alive. I suppose there’s a lot of resentment still, but it doesn’t matter to me. I think there should be more cooperation today, I mean the burning times were so long ago, and the two worlds have so much to learn from each other, particularly in the medical field.”

Sally yawned and looked at the time. “Wow! Quarter past two already, we’d better get off to bed, or we’ll sleep right through tomorrow.”

“Good night, Cho,” her cousins chimed in unison.

“Good night.” Cho smiled.

Cho looked at her bed after they had left. She hated going to sleep. Sleep meant more nightmares. The nightmares were constant for Cho. The nightmares used to consist of Cedric dying at the hands of Voldemort, but had recently been replaced with numerous others, mostly about Cho letting people who depended on her down. A few constants were losing the Quidditch cup for Ravenclaw, and the World Cup for Scotland. Others were recreations of her worst moments last term, and this summer break. As Cho drifted to sleep she saw these visions of her past.

“Um, hey listen, Cho, I’ve got to go meet another girl… another girl… another girl…” came the echoing voice of Harry as Cho tossed in her bed. “No, I’m sorry Harry, don’t leave me! I won’t mention Cedric again. I promise,” Cho said in her sleep, wishing that she had said that at Hogsmeade. Then her dream switched to another scene with Harry yelling at her ** _. “Don’t you start crying again!”_** he had said with hate in his eyes. “ ** _Don’t you start crying again…. Don’t you start crying again!”_** “I wasn’t going to, I...” Cho was now sobbing in her sleep. And then the scene in her subconscious state shifted again, and a new angry voice came to her. **_“I’m going to kill that Mudblood bitch!_** **_I’m going to torture her to death with the Cruciatus Curse… Cruciatus Curse… Cruciatus Curse… I’m going to kill that Mudblood bitch!”_** echoed the voice of Marietta Edgencombe.

Cho continued tossing in her sleep sickened at the thought of anyone using such a horrible thing on anyone. Even if it was a girl that Cho didn’t particularly like, she didn’t wish any harm to her, especially that kind of harm. Finally the most horrible dream came to Cho; it was the one she hated most, and the one she now had even more often than the others. It was about Harry Potter being tortured and nearly killed. Some evil person with snake like eyes, whom Cho guessed to be Voldemort, although she had never seen him before, would torture Harry for ages it seemed with the Cruciatus Curse, and then fire off the Avada Kedavra curse at Harry, who was almost hit before something moved in his way at the last second. Always the nightmare of Harry being tortured was the worst for Cho, and always the one that woke her up, and made her hate to sleep. After a while she was able to drift off again for a few hours, before…

…” ** _Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”_** shouted the voice at full blast, and Cho was startled by what she thought an earthquake might feel like, as the whole bed shook violently.

Cho shot up instantly. “What! What’s going on!” she asked, startled.

As she opened her eyes, Ling came into view, jumping up and down on her mattress and causing the shaking. “Come along now will you, we do shopping to do you know. Don’t want to be late.”

Cho looked through bloodshot eyes at the time: five past ten. “Oh, I… can’t I just sleep for five more minutes?” she asked as she pulled her pillow over her face.

“Nooooooooo, you can’t!” came Ling’s reply, and the mattress started shaking as she again took up the **_“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”_** chant.

Cho knew she had no choice. “Okay, okay you win. I’ll get my shower.” Cho grabbed the clothes laid out the night before, and made her way to the bathroom. She put the clothes on the counter, and threw off the t-shirt and knickers that she slept in the night before. She then proceeded to try and turn the knob so that the water heat would be just right—a near impossible task, and she wished that she could just use a little magic, but she wouldn’t be seventeen until the third of October, and was still too young to even flick a wand until then.

After a few minutes she finally managed to get the water the right degree of heat, and stepped in. She grabbed the soap and sniffed its scented odour, “Irish Spring.” After lathering up Cho reached for the shampoo and conditioner, which smelled of vanilla, and was of an expensive variety found only in the Muggle world. Cho had to keep her eyes closed as the shampoo ran over the front of her face. She was about to wash it out when she realized that she had neglected to lock the door of the bathroom, and heard someone open it. “Someone’s in here!”

“I know! Wha ha ha ha ha,” came the reply.

Then, as Cho started washing the shampoo out of her hair to see who it was, she heard it! **_“Flush!”_**

“Oh, no!” she gasped an instant before the water from the shower turned into what felt like sub-zero temperatures. **_“Ahhhhhhhhhh! Ling, I’m going to kick your arse!”_**

After a good breakfast and a brisk walk to the shopping district, Cho and her cousins arrived at the local shopping center. Sally and Ling were still smiling at the fact that Ling had got her cousin twice in a week with the flushing toilet trick. Cho made a strong mental note to be absolutely sure to lock the door next time. Cho had finally managed to see the humour in it, after she had calmed down, but any more would be too much.

The trio went into several stores, both window shopping and buying things on occasion. Cho bought a new pair of blue jeans from GAP, and a handbag and belt from Claire’s Accessories. For her friends Luna Lovegood and Beverly Jones, she bought some Muggle items that she thought they might like. She bought Beverly a beautiful turquoise broach laced with red silk, and a copy of the latest best-selling mystery novel by Beverly’s favourite author. For Luna she bought a pink leather purse with matching billfold, and a Muggle item that she thought Luna would like called the _Magic 8 Ball_. It was a round plastic ball that looked similar to a mini Bludger, which had a glass window on one flat part. You had to shake the ball, and ask it a “yes” or “no” question, to which you would get an answer.

Cho was surprised that the Muggles had magic items. There was so much she was just finding out about the world of some of her friends like Beverly that she never knew. But didn’t Beverly know that there was a _Magic 8 Ball_? Cho had asked her once if Muggles had any magic items or could cast any spells, and Beverly had said that they couldn’t. Wait until she showed her this magical item that was right under her very nose! “Maybe she should get one for Beverly too,” she thought, and picked up a second one and proceeded to the till to pay up.

Cho was glad to have her cousins with her to actually make the transactions. She was getting used to Muggle money, but was still a bit confused at the value of the coins and paper money. The trio headed to several shoe shops, and Cho bought her cousins some nice high heels that they were looking at with excitement. She was glad to pay Sally and Ling back in some small way for the kindness they had shown her. She was really lucky to have such people in her family, her uncle and aunt had also been wonderful, and had opened their home to Cho and her father as soon as he told them that they needed a place to stay that was close to the hospital. Cho finished up at the shoe shop by buying a pair of black high heels and a pair of white trainers with green stripes.

Upon leaving the mall they passed a beautiful fountain with a center column carved with lion heads that spit water out of their mouths into a pool filled with what looked like money. Sally went through her purse.

“Oh bugger, I haven’t got any change. Cho, could I borrow two pence please?”

“Yes me too!” added Ling.

“Okay,” said Cho curiously, “but what for?” She pulled two ten pences out of her purse.

“Oh no Cho, the pence, the copper colour money, not the silver,” said Sally.

“Well do you want some of this paper money? I think it’s the most valuable,” Cho offered.

The two of them laughed at a joke that Cho didn’t get. “Oh Cho, don’t be silly. We can’t throw a fiver into the fountain! We need two pence each.” They giggled.

Cho was very confused. “Why would you want to throw any money at all into the fountain?”

Sally and Ling looked at each other like they could not believe what Cho just said. “To make our wishes of course.”

“Duhh!” Ling put in.

Cho had a blank look on her face. “Wishes?”

Cho’s cousins gave each other a confused glance. “Well. You know when you pass a fountain or a well, you’re supposed to throw two pence in and make two wishes. And your wishes will come true. Don’t you have fountains and wells in the magic world?” Ling asked.

“Yes, but no one I’ve ever known has ever thrown money into them... God, there’s so much about Muggles I don’t know. I’m taking Muggle Studies this year. Oh, here.” Cho produced four pence from her purse and split it between her cousins, and took out two more for herself. “Um, how does it work?” she asked politely.

“Well, you take your money, walk to the fountain, and think about your two wishes. Then you make them as you throw the money in the water. Later, your wishes will come true,” Ling said proudly.

“How do you know it works? Have your wishes ever come true? And what makes them come true?” Cho asked with genuine interest.

“I wished for a bike on my eighth birthday and got it,” said Sally. “And we both wished that dad would be okay after that car accident a few years back, and he was. You have to sort of take it on faith. Muggle magic, I suppose you could call it. Anyway, I think it works.”

Cho watched her cousins go up to the fountain with looks of concentration on their faces, and throw in their money. She noticed that other people around were doing the same thing. _Maybe there is something to it,_ she thought.

When it came time for Cho to cast in her money, she concentrated hard on the two things she wanted most in the world: First, for her mother to make a full recovery, to be back to her active happy self again, and doing the things that she loved to do. Cho threw the first coin in, and then concentrated on her second wish. What did she want? She knew—she wanted Harry to forgive her, to give her another chance. She missed him horribly, and wanted to have another chance to go out with him, to make things right. _She wanted another chance with Harry._

Cho tossed her last coin into the water and turned to face her cousins. She started “I wished for…” But her cousins both cut her off in unison.

“No! No! You can’t tell us your wish before it comes true!”

“Why not?”

“That’s just the rules,” replied Sally. “Just don’t tell us, and it will come true.”

_What a strange ceremony_ , Cho thought. “Is there anything else we have to do?” she asked, changing the subject.

Sally looked at her watch. “Yes, we have to catch the bus; we need to be home for lunch.”

When they arrived back at the luxury flats, Cho’s father said that three owls had arrived for her. They had been flying around in the hall when he got home, and now the neighbours thought that the lot of them were keeping unauthorized pets.

“So make sure you send them back as soon as you can. I’ll _Dissipate_ the window for a minute when you’re ready,” her father said happily.

The three owls were perched on the couch in the living room, and Cho grabbed a few biscuits that her father kept for the owl that delivered the _Daily Prophet_. Cho took the biscuits to the owls. She went to the first one and removed the parchment from its leg, and realized that Sally and Ling were right behind her, anxiously awaiting what news the letters had brought. Cho’s father had usually been able to determine when the owl delivering the Daily Prophet would come in, so he had bewitched the window to Dissipate during that time, and Apparate after the owl had left. Sally and Ling were always up early to see it, and thought it was so awesome to have an owl deliver the paper every morning. But none of these owls were bringing the Daily Prophet.

Cho opened the parchment and read it to herself.

“Well what’s it say, who’s it from?” asked Ling, not being able to contain herself, and Sally eagerly nodded her head in agreement that Cho should tell them.

Cho also nodded. “It’s from my friend Luna Lovegood. She’s writing to say that her father has captured a Crumple Horned Snorcack, and is lending it to Hogwarts for Care of Magical Creatures class. She says since this is my last year at Hogwarts, and I’m not required to take the class, she wants me to take it as an elective, so I can see it with her.”

“ **Wow! An actual Crumple Horned Snorack...** What’s a Crumple Horned Snorack?” asked Sally excitedly.

Cho looked worried. “Well, I… it’s supposed to be a mythical creature that doesn’t exist. I mean, no ones ever seen one. And there are only a couple of obscure references to it in books about the history of magic. I don’t think they really exist.”

Her cousins looked disappointed. “You mean your friend is lying to you?” asked Sally.

Cho responded quickly. “Oh no! No, no. Luna would never lie. It’s just that sometimes she has a very active imagination. But if she says she has captured a Snorcack… then I know that she _really_ believes it.” Cho thought worriedly for a minute. “Poor Luna, some of the idiots at our school are really going to tease her when she can’t produce one.”

“Does it say anything else?” Ling asked with enthusiasm.

“She says she hopes this boy named Ron Weasley will ask her to the Yule Ball, and she will meet me at the station when we go to King’s Cross. She also asks how mum is.”

Sally smiled. “Is he fit, the Weasley boy?”

“Uh, I don’t really know. I don’t remember him really.”

“Will you take the creature magic class?” Ling asked.

“Um, I don’t know, I’m kind of behind really, and don’t have a lot of time for extra classes. I’ll have to think about it.” She gave the owl a biscuit and asked it to stay around for a while until she could decide. Cho then went to the second owl and took the parchment from its leg.

“And what is that one?” Sally asked.

“It’s a list of books that seventh years will need for school, and a note to send back listing any optional classes that we want to take.” Cho looked the list over again: seventh years did not have potions as an option. Maybe Professor Snape could give her some private tutoring to help her find a cure for her mother? Maybe there was something in potions that the Healers had overlooked. She had to find the cure to help her mother, and she was sure that there must be some mixture of potions that could do it.

Finally, Cho came to the third owl, and took its parchment. Cho opened it and read it to herself, growing ever angrier as she did.

_**Dearest Cho,** _

**_I’m home from hospital now and the Healers were finally able to remove the jinx from my face! I’ve been reading books constantly to find a way to get back at that Mudblood bitch—the dark books that you can’t get at the regular book shop._ **

**_I’ve found a way to get even with her, and I want your help. Remember she was the one who stole Potter from you, so let’s both see she gets what she deserves. I’m still awaiting your apology here at the mansion. I know you’re sorry for the things you said to me, and I know that you will do the right thing and be true to your pureblood roots. There are things going on in the magic world now that you need to consider. There is a new age dawning on us. Wondrous things are going to happen soon, and there are certain things that you need to do to purge yourself of bad things you’ve done in the past. I caution you as your friend to stop talking to, associating with, and most especially dating, Mudbloods like Diggory, and that Potter boy. I know that everyone liked Diggory and all, even I thought he was okay for “one of them”, but you’re better than that. You need to stick to your own kind. Purity is the most important thing in this world._ **

**_Remember Cho, you are better than anyone who’s not the right kind of people. I know it has never made a difference to you what people were, but all that has to change now. Danielle and I can no longer turn the other way in disgust, while you befriend people who are not worthy to lick your shoe. You don’t want to be a traitor to your own people, do you? Your family’s magical lineage goes back a long way, so I know you will do the right thing. Write me back as soon as possible._ **

_**Sincerely, your “real friend”** _

_**Marietta Edgencombe** _

_**P.S. Danielle says hi, and she’s very disappointed that you still consort with the wrong kind as well. But we both know you’ll do the right thing.** _

Cho swore to herself and threw the parchment to the ground in disgust. “Damn it! Stupid racist _bitches!_ ” she said as her cousins jumped in shock.

“What… what is it?” asked Sally.

Cho looked at her two cousins, embarrassed. “I… its private. Look, I’m sorry, but I need some privacy to answer these letters. Can we talk later?”

Sally gave a weak smile. “Sure Cho, we understand, come on Ling.”

Ling resisted. “But what did it say?” she pressed.

“None of our business,” said Sally. “Don’t be so nosy. Come on, let’s go and play cards, while Cho writes her letters.”

“Thanks guys,” Cho said weakly. She got a few pages of parchment out of a drawer, and grabbed her quill off her uncle’s desk. She put one of the parchments against a book, and began to write:

_**Dear Luna,** _

**_I’m glad to hear about the Snorcack. I think it’s great that you managed to catch one. I’ll of coarse take the Care of Magical Creatures class with you this year._ **

**_Mum’s in a Muggle hospital now, and I’ll explain about it to you when I see you again. Please don’t tell anyone, as I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me, and it’s kind of a personal family matter. But I really want to thank you for being my confessor this summer. I really needed someone to talk to who I knew would keep it confidential, and you’ve been great. I think Weasley will definitely ask you out. He would be a git not to want to be with someone like you. I miss having you to talk with in person._ **

**_Also, thanks for your offer to have Weasley talk to Harry for me, but no thanks. Harry hates me, and he deserves better than me anyway. I couldn’t even see through Marietta last year. And besides, he’s got a girlfriend. So please don’t even mention it._ **

_**Well again thanks so much for being there for me. I can’t wait to see you.** _

_**Love you like a sister,** _

_**Cho** _

Cho then folded the parchment and put it on the first owl’s leg, asking it to wait until she finished the other letters to leave. She then filled out the second letter to Hogwarts, asking to take Care of Magical Creatures class Muggle Studies. She folded the note and put it in the second owl’s leg, and asked her to wait as well. Finally, Cho flattened out the third piece of parchment on the book. She wrote a short letter filled with anger:

_**Marietta,** _

**_You must be completely daft to think that I’m about to apologize to you. I can’t believe how stupid I was to buy into the lies that you’ve been telling me all this time. I tried to get you to see how wrong your stupid prejudices were, but you insist on putting yourself above other people._ **

_**Well count me out of you little group of haters. My life’s going to be so much better with you and Danielle out of it. The world is a better place because of people like Cedric, Harry, and Beverly Jones, and I actually pity you both for all the great friendships you’ll miss out on by not getting to know them.** _

_**You and Daniel can both get stuffed. And don’t either of you send me any more letters because I won’t be accepting them.** _

_**Stupid gits.** _

_**Thinking you’re a sneak,** _

_**Cho.** _

Cho called for her father to come in the room to _Dissipate_ the window. As he got ready to do so, she asked him for a favor. “Dad, can you make this one a Howler? I would, but I’m not allowed to use magic outside school.”

Mr. Chang was taken aback. “Who are you sending a Howler to?”

“The wrong kind of people,” Cho replied quietly.

“Huh?”

“Oh, just someone who’s not a nice person, and has been a bad influence on me.”

Mr. Chang looked at his daughter suspiciously. “Well, okay Cho, but just this once. It’s really something I don’t want to be a part of, your problems with your friends.”

Mr. Chang cast the spell to make the letter a Howler, and Cho attached it to the third owl and gave them each a biscuit. Mr. Chang _Dissipated_ the window, and the two of them watched as the owls flew away. Mr. Chang then set the window back to normal.

“Everything set for school?” he asked.

“I’ll have to get a book for Care of Magical Creatures class that I’m taking as an elective,” Cho said.

“Okay. Well, I’ve got some paperwork from Gringotts to work on, so I’ll see you at dinner. Take care, baby,” Mr. Chang said with a smile.

“Thanks dad, love you,” Cho replied, and walked back into Sally’s room to hang out with her cousins.

 

    **If anyone is reading this story, please post a review so that I will know.**

**Thanks:)**

**highice007**


	8. Chapter 8: The Harry Potter

  


**Chapter 8: _The Harry Potter_**

Harry, Hermione, Mad-Eye and the Weasley family stepped off the double-decker bus outside the Leaky Cauldron. As Harry entered, he was greeted with great cheers by the patrons of the establishment. People shook his hand, hugged him and thanked him for his great deeds during what was now being termed, “The Battle of the Ministry.” One woman, in a plaid coat and black bowler hat, introduced herself as Angela Finnegan.

“Congratulations Harry, me boy. I knew you was innocent of the lies that they was saying about you. You go ta school with me boy Seamus; we always believed you weren’t dangerous, always believed your story.” she said in a thick Irish brogue.

Harry shook the woman’s hand half-heartedly and smiled falsely, remembering the heated argument he and Seamus had had the first month of last year. Seamus had said that his parents hadn’t wanted him to go back to Hogwarts because of what the papers were saying. And now, here she was, acting as if she had backed Harry up all along.

Harry remembered how almost the entire wizarding world had been against him when he’d come back to Hogwarts. The dirty looks he got, the sneers, the people trying to avoid him at all costs, and only Hermione, the Weasley family and a very few others to back him up. Of course, when the Ministry made Umbridge Grand Inquisitor, he had a few more students willing to talk to him, and more when he started the DA classes, and after the Quibbler article. But before those events, he could count his allies in the student body on two hands with a couple of fingers to spare.

But now, now he was _The Harry Potter_ again, and he wasn’t going to let the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet bring him back down. Last year he had been a villain for most of the year; this year, he would be a hero. Now that Rita Skeeter was back at the Daily Prophet, he was going to use Hermione’s blackmail skills to have only favourable articles printed about him. Didn’t he deserve it this year? Didn’t he deserve all the praise that was being heaped on him after all he’d been through? He thought this as he made his way through the cheering throngs to the back of the Leaky Cauldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley.

“Stand aside, boy!” Moody said, tapped the appropriate bricks with his wand, and the entrance revealed itself.

As the small band moved down the street, Harry was greeted by even more elated fans. People were begging for his autograph, and asking him to sign the Daily Prophet with pictures of him. Girls screamed in star-struck awe at the sight of him. For once in his life, he was enjoying the attention.

A group of seven, giggling girls around his age came running up to him in a huddle, but stopped short, and all began to blush. After a few seconds of discussion, the group pushed one particularly pretty girl with dark brown hair towards him. Her face was beet-red, and she held a copy of the Prophet with his Triwizard Tournament picture. His image was fidgeting around, and had an embarrassed look on its face, but not quite as embarrassed as the girl standing in front of him. She tried to get the words out that she wanted to say.

“ Harry… I Mean sir… I mean… Mr. Ppp…p…p…p…Potter, would you pppp…ppp……ppp…please sign my ppp…p…p…paper, sir?” she stammered.

Harry was reminded of Professor Quirrel from his first year by the stuttering. But Quirrell was long dead and could do no more harm.

Harry took the paper from the shaking hands of the girl and looked at the front page. This article was kind to him. It had been this way, the papers hailing him a hero since he’d returned to the Dursleys and he remembered how he hadn’t cared about his fame, still grieving over Sirius’ death. But now, being here, having throngs of people worshipping him, he began to enjoy himself. He’d even come above the article about the poor girl who was killed in a vampire attack, a story that he had been following.

Harry looked at the girl and asked, “Got a quill?” Her mouth dropped open, and she dug into her pockets, as three of her friends produced quills and offered them out to him. Harry took one at random and asked the girl her name.

“My name? Its uhhhhh, um…it’s, wait I know it.”

Harry smiled at her.

“It’s Fiona,” shouted one of her friends.

“Yes! That’s it! Fiona,” she said quickly, embarrassed.

“Fiona, do you and your friends go to Hogwarts?” Harry asked.

“Ye…yes sir. I’m a third year, sir,” she replied nervously.

“And what house are you in?” Harry inquired.

“I’m in Slytherin, sir.” _Really_ , he thought. _Interesting, some of these fans I’m getting._

“And are all your friends in Slytherin, too?” he asked, intrigued.

“Nnn…no, Mr. Potter sir. Nancy’s in Gryffindor and B…Bridget is in Hufflepuff, sir” she continued, pointing out two of her friends.

Harry nodded and signed his autograph: **_To Fiona. Thanks for your support, see you in school. Harry Potter._**

“Well, you’re cute, Fiona; but let me give you a word of advice. Stay away from Draco Malfoy this year, and I’ll think even better of you. Oh, and you can call me Harry.” He smiled. Something suddenly came over him and he kissed Fiona on the cheek. He was glad her friends were so close behind her, because they were able to catch her as she fell backwards in a faint from the kiss.

Suddenly, several people were shaking numerous parchments and papers at him to sign. Harry signed the autographs for the rest of Fiona’s friends and a few more people.

Finally, Mad-Eye tapped him on the shoulder. “Move along boy, this is not what we’re here for and the crowed is going to make it hard for me to protect you. We need to keep moving. Now get going.”

“Oh, right! Sorry everyone, I’ve got to go,” he said apologetically.

“Ahh, that’s not fair,” said a lot of disappointed onlookers, not all of them teenagers. There were also adults, of many different ages.

“Well, anyone who’s a student that really wants an autograph can catch me between classes this year,” Harry said with a shrug.

Harry turned to Ron. “I know that Lockhart was a git, but I’m starting to see the attraction in being loved by thousands, especially after last year.” He finished as the group made their way through the shops in the alley. Harry noticed that Ron looked a bit resentful of his good fortune.

“What’s with you?” he asked.

Ron looked up at him, his face full of disappointment. “Well, it’s just that there were six of us in the battle that night, and you’re the only one that’s getting the credit. I mean, all the papers say is Harry Potter took on Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and was accompanied by friends. It barely mentions our names. A writer from the Prophet interviewed me, and he kept asking me about you. What was it like to be saved by _the Harry Potter,_ what was it like to be rescued by _the boy who lived_? I told him that I wasn’t a hostage, but fighting by your side, and I get a wow, really! What was it like to be fighting alongside _the Harry Potter?_ I’m not jealous or anything, but I wouldn’t mind the rest of us getting a little credit once in a while.”

Harry gave Ron a pat on the back, “Not to worry, Ron. Hermione can get Rita Skeeter to do that for you. Can’t you, Hermione?”

Hermione shrugged. “Sure, Ron, I can do that. _If_ you’re nice to me,” she said with a flirtatious smile.

“I thought I was always nice to you,” Ron said, perplexed.

“No, I mean if you’re _nice to me,_ ” Hermione repeated meaningfully.

“What are you on about?” said Ron.

“Oh, never mind! Why do you always have to be so thick?” Hermione shot angrily. “I’ve got to go to the lavatory; we’ll meet at your brother’s joke shop. Come on, Ginny.” The two girls rushed off quickly before Ron could respond.

“What’s got into her?” Ron asked Harry.

“I’d say she fancies you, Ron” Harry cut in.

“What, me? No, Hermione and I have always been just friends. Besides, she likes that Viktor Krum, crumb,” Ron said, adding the crumb with an air of offence as they continued to walk down the street.

“Are you sure about that, dear? I was getting the same impression as Harry myself. You’re sure she just wants to be friends?” asked Mrs. Weasley.

Ron was a little agitated.

“Well, yeah mum. She’s always saying, Oh, Viktor understands me, and oh, Viktor is always interested in what I’m doing, and reads my poetry, and on, and on, and on. You know, I read her poetry once, and all she writes about is girly stuff, like feelings, love, and well things that girls talk about. Viktor is a little too in touch with his feminine side if he’s that interested in that.”

“Well Ron, do you pay attention to Hermione when you talk to each other? I mean, when she brings up subjects that she’s interested in?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

Ron looked puzzled.

“Well, usually, but then she eventually goes off on things like feelings, and romance and things like that, when I’m trying to tell her important, relevant stuff, like about the last Quidditch game, or about an article on the latest racing broom. I mean, sometimes it’s like we run out of things to say, and it gets awkward, and after a while when no ones said anything, she brings up Viktor the crumb. Saying how, oh! Viktor sent me an owl, inviting me to go to Bulgaria this summer, but I came here instead. Showing off how Viktor was so into her, that’s what she’s doing,” Ron finished with a burst of bitterness.

“Ron, I think Hermione was just showing you how important being with you was to her. So much so that she turned another boy down because she wanted to be with _you_. That’s how girls try to show boys that they are interested in them. It’s her way of saying that you’re important enough to her to give up other opportunities,” said Mrs. Weasley.

Ron was confused. “Well, why doesn’t she just come out and say she wanted to be with me and not Victor? Or just come out and say that she likes me?” he asked.

Mrs. Weasley sighed in exasperation, and gave a capitulated look.

“Oh Ron, that’s just not the way we girls usually do things. Just try reading between the lines. Sometimes girls will talk about other boys in front of you to get you to pay attention to them. Honestly, I’ve got to have a sit down with you and Harry about how girls think,” she said exasperatedly.

“It’s all a bit bonkers if you ask me, mum. I’ll never understand girls. I mean, if I fancy a girl, I’d just come out and say it.”

Harry smiled at that statement, thinking to himself: _Then why don’t you just say it to Hermione?_

The group passed more crowds of supporters along the way to Wimbydale’s, the new bookshop in Diagon Alley. Harry wondered again how many of these people had believed the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet, and had been against him last year. Rather a lot, he expected.

_My, how things chang_ e, he thought as the group entered the bookshop. Harry and Ron looked around the store for the books on their list. The first required book they came to was **_Potions: The Ultimate Guide, by Azeri Loki_**. Harry looked at the book with absolute revulsion.

“Damnit! It’s not fair. We were finally supposed to be through with Snape last year, and now they change the curriculum on us. Advanced Potions indeed: as if we needed that. You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think its Dumbledore trying to make my life miserable again.”

Ron let out a sigh, and rolled his eyes. “Harry, Dumbledore really is concerned about you. And it’s not just you. All sixth years have to take Advanced Potions.”

Harry gave a nod of reluctant agreement. “Yeah, I know. It’s just that…Snape _again_.”

A stack of books on a table caught Ron’s eye, and he walked over to them. He picked one up and put it in his shopping basket.

“What’s that one?” Harry asked curiously.

“Oh. It’s Animato, for Special Effects Magic class. Luna told me about it. It’s about how to perform Muggle magic in movies. She thought I might like to take the class with her, and it sounded interesting. An American friend of her father teaches it. So I thought, why not,” Ron said with a shrug.

“That sounds like a strange class. You mean, like how they film actors hanging from wires against a blue screen, and then add in a back ground to make it look like they’re flying?” Harry asked.

“What are you talking about? I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Ron replied, bewildered.

“Oh, I saw a special on it,” Harry said.

The group continued shopping, and picked up books for Ginny and Hermione as well. When they were done, they started off toward Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop owned by Ron’s twin brothers. When Harry and Ron were out of earshot of Mad-Eye and Mrs. Weasley, Harry asked Ron a question. “Do you think what your mum said about Hermione and Bulgaria was true?”

“What do you mean? About him inviting her? Yeah, she showed me the letter,” Ron said.

“No, I mean, when Hermione told you that she turned down going to Bulgaria to be with you. Do girls really say things like that to show you that they’re willing to give up doing something else to be with you, to show you how important you are to them? Like saying that they would rather be with you than someone else without just coming right out and saying it?” Harry asked.

Ron’s face was blank. “Uhh…well, I guess so. I mean, girls are different. It’s like they’re not even on the same planet as us sometimes. Why? Do you think mum’s right about Hermione? That she was just trying to make me jealous, and to show me that she wanted to be with me so much that she gave up being with Viktor?”

Harry thought for a minute.

“Well, maybe. I seem to remember Cho doing something like that to me last year. She mentioned that Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain last year, asked her out for Valentine’s Day, and she turned him down to be with me. I wonder how many other girls are doing what Hermione and Cho are doing, and not just coming out and saying that they really want to be with us,” Harry said.

“Yeah, well, if that’s the way they’re going to act, I guess I’ll need a crash course on girl lingo, and the way that they act.” Ron commented.

“So, how does your mum feel about the joke shop?” Harry asked, changing the subject.

“Well, at first, she hated the idea, being as serious about having all her children graduate as she is. But when she found out how much money they’ve been pulling in, she changed her tune. Not that she’s money hungry or anything, she just wants us all to be able to take care of ourselves financially after school. Anyway, the shop is doing really well, and they’re swamped almost all the time. Fred wrote that actually running the business has taken so much of his time that they haven’t had time to make any mischief. Here it is,” Ron finished as the two of them reached the store, with Moody and Mrs. Weasley a little behind.

The joke shop was modest looking enough on the outside, with a dark wooden framework, and two windows on either side that displayed popular items like Extendable Ears and Skiving Snack Boxes. Harry and Ron walked through the door, and were impressed to see that Fred and George had bewitched the place to be bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. All around them, colourful practical joke items littered the shelves, and there were a lot of customers standing in the queue with their selections.

Ron looked at one item on the shelf that looked like an obviously fake rubber-snake. “Can’t say I’m impressed with this item. I mean, who’s it supposed to fool?”

Ron picked it up to show Harry the bad workmanship, when with a tiny puff of smoke the snake became very real and wrapped around Ron’s wrist.

“Ahhhh! Harry, talk to it, tell it to leave me alone!” Ron pleaded. Harry jumped away but recovered quickly and started to attempt to speak in Parseltongue to tell the snake to let go of Ron, but it didn’t appear to be working.

“You’re not going to get it off him speaking in any language, Harry, unless you know the right words to say,” came George’s voice from behind him. “Ron, just say Riddikulus to it,” he continued casually.

Ron gave him a horrified expression, but looked at the snake and gave a stuttering “R…r…Ridiculous”. The snake turned back into the harmless, very fake looking piece of rubber that it had been moments before.

“What was that all about?” Ron asked, rubbing his wrist.

“One of our newest little toys. We call it the double scare. You put this somewhere that someone will happen on it, and they’ll jump with fear. After a few minutes, when they close in on it and realise that it’s fake, they’ll go to pick it up, and poof, another scare. But all you have to do is say Ridiculous to turn it back to a harmless piece of rubber again. Well, actually, it’s harmless either way. It’s not a real snake, and it won’t bite you even when it looks real. That’s going for five sickles apiece,” George said.

“But, how will people know to say Ridiculous?” asked Harry.

“Oh, it comes with instructions on the box. We assume that whoever plants it will hang around to see the results of their handy work, and be able to say Ridiculous before the victim dies of shock,” George said with a grin. “Also, the Extendable Ears were selling so well that we decided to work on Extendable Eyes as well. But here’s my personal favourite!” He took a box with a bottle of potion in it off the shelf.

Harry and Ron looked at it. “What is it?” they asked in unison.

“Paisley Potion. You drop some of this on someone’s clothes, and in ten minutes, it turns them pink with yellow flower patterns. Of course, it only works if you use it on guy’s clothes. I think girls would actually enjoy it. But think of how much fun you’ll have if you put it on Malfoy’s dress robes this year,” George finished with a grin, as mischievous smiles lit up Harry and Ron’s faces.

Harry suddenly noticed a small crowd gathering behind him. Fred was in front of them.

“Hey, Harry, they all want your autograph. Tell ‘em that you’ll sign it for any paying customer,” he said with a wink.

“Fred,” Mrs. Weasley cut in. “We haven’t got time for that. The boys are here in Diagon Alley to pick up their school supplies. We just dropped in for a quick visit.”

“Oh, come on mum. Harry’s going to want to sign to keep his fans happy anyway. And you look like you’ve already got all the books they’ll need. It’s early. Just an hour, it’ll bring in loads of people.”

Mrs. Weasley sighed. “Alright, just an hour. I suppose I’m happy to see Harry get the credit he deserves after how everyone treated him last year.”

Fred grinned shyly to his mother. “Thanks, mum. We’ve already got a table set up. This way, if you please, _The Harry Potter?_ ”

Ron followed Harry behind the table, and spotted a cute, blond-haired girl that he recognised as a sixth year Hufflepuff from school. He whispered into Harry’s ear.

“Hey, Harry, do you think you could mention that I was in the Battle, and how heroically I fought when she gets up to the table?” he asked, pointing at the sixth year.

Harry smirked. “Sure, Ron, no problem,” he replied. The first customer walked up with a box of Weasley’s Wildfire Whizbangs.

“I can’t believe it! _The Harry Potter_! I’m so honoured. I always supported you, and everyone in my family, everyone at my work, we were always behind you one hundred percent!”

“Oh, really?” Harry said, pleased. “What type of work do you do?”

The man raised his head proudly. “I’m Tristan Grimbold; I’m the editor of the Daily Prophet.”

Harry gave a sarcastic smirk. "Yes, I’m sure _everyone_ at the Prophet supported me the whole time." _Just as much as everyone at the Ministry did,_ he thought.

After an hour of signing autographs, Harry and the others started to leave with a few boxes of treats that the Weasley twins had given their benefactor, and their brother, free of charge. Before they were too far away, Fred yelled from the door of the shop.

“‘Oi, Ron! Come back here for a few minutes!”

“What is it?” Ron asked.

“Just come here. We have something for you.”

“Okay.” Ron looked at the others. “Be right back.”

As Harry waited outside with Mad-Eye and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione and Ginny came running up to them. Hermione had a package in a familiar shape in her arms.

“Harry!” Hermione said as she gave him a friendly hug. “Look what my parents gave me money to buy. It’s a Nimbus Two Thousand. Where’s Ron? I wanted to show it to him.”

Harry looked back at the joke shop, and saw Ron walking towards them with a bright smile on his face.

“Here he comes now,” Harry said. “What are you so happy about?”

“Oh, nothing,” Ron said happily. “Anyone for ice cream? My treat,” he said.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

“Are you sure, Ron?” Harry asked, knowing how much money Ron didn’t have.

But Ron simply raised his head proudly and mentioned that he was quite sure.

As they continued down the alley, people stopped and thanked Harry for his great deeds at the Ministry of Magic, and giggling girls followed behind him, star-struck. He truly was _The Boy Who Lived_ again.


	9. Misinterpatation

  


**Chapter 9: Misinterpretation**

Cho’s cousins were beside themselves with joy. This would be their first trip to Diagon Alley, or really to any place with magic, except for Cho’s house in Motherwell. They had just finished drinking their glasses of butter beer at the Leakey Cauldron, and hearing the patrons talk about how just thirty minutes before _The Harry Potter_ himself had passed through the door, on his way to Diagon Alley. Cho stomach was churning, and she was having mixed emotions about seeing Harry. On the one hand she wanted to see him more than anything else in the world, hopeing to once again rebuild the connection lost last year, but he had also broken her heart that year, and she was still hurting from it. She was also sure that he remembered that it was also Cho’s fault that Merritta had betrayed the DA. Even if she did meet him, what could she say to him? She would be afraid to speak, for fear of saying the wrong thing again. And what if he were with his girlfriend, Hermione Granger? There were so many things that could possibly go wrong, and let’s face it, Murphy’s Law had been a constant in Cho’s life every since the end of her fifth year. She was trying to go over everything that she wanted to tell Harry in her mind. “Hello Harry, I’m really sorry about Marietta, please forgive me. Marietta and I don’t talk anymore. Please take me back.” No she thought, too needy, and so what if she didn’t talk to Merritta anymore. The Damage had already been done. “Harry are you still giving DA classes this year? I’d love to join, just me I mean.” No, he’d never let you back in after what happened. “Um, Harry…would you like to go with me to Hogsmead on the first weekend trip?” Oh yea, He’d love that, after the disastrous first date last year. “Harry…I really am grateful for what you did at the Ministry last year. I never doubted you, and I’m proud of you for your courage.” No, I sound like an annoying fan girl Cho thought. Oh! Just put him out of your mind for once Cho. I mean…after all…Diagon Alley is a large place filled with people at this time. The chances of running into Harry are, like a hundred to one.

“Hey Cho Do you think that we’ll get to see Harry Potter” asked Ling.

“ **A hundred too one!”** Cho burst out nervously.

“Huh?” Sally stated taken aback. Cho looked at her cousin’s surprised expressions,

“Oh, I…sorry, um I think that it would be a hundred to one chance. I mean Diagon Alley is a big place, and there are really a lot of people. I think that we’ll more likely not see him. Sorry.” Cho said.

“Oh, come on Cho, if it’s an alley, how big can it be?” asked Ling. Good question, Cho thought.

“Um, well shall we go?” she asked of her cousins. As the trio made there way to the back of the pub, Sally happened to glance back at their table and saw the glasses that they had been drinking from dissolve in front of her eyes. “Wow, wicked.” She said to her self. She then continued to follow Cho and Ling to the back door that opened into a small court yard surrounded by a brick wall. Cho looked at a piece of parchment she had taken from her pocket, and then took out her wand and tapped it in several places on the wall. Suddenly the bricks seemed to fold on one another and a street on the other side was reveled. It was full of people in both normal clothing, and people with robes, cloaks and pointy hats. Cho turned to her cousins with a smile, “Well, here we are, Diagon Alley. This way please.” Cho’s cousins followed her down the crowded alley way and listened to people talk about how Harry Potter himself was somewhere in the area.

Everyone was in a festive mood, and the place never seemed more alive to Cho. She led her cousins to the first shop on her left, Stationers. Cho shopped in the store for some parchment, quills, and ink bottles she would need for the school year. Sally and Ling were not too impressed with this store, but Cho knew the owner Mrs. Pickton very well, as this was one of her favorite shops in the alley.

After she had finished with her purchases, Cho led her cousins down to the Caldron shop. Sally and Ling moved around the store, taking in the diverse types of caldrons, standard black ones, and brass ones with handles, and silver caldrons that looked very expensive at twelve gallons a piece. Ling came up to one black cauldron alone on a table that had a spoon in it, that was stirring by itself. She looked at it in awe. “One of our best sellers that is,” said an old woman in a velvet green robe, and black witch’s hat. “Colman’s self stirring caldron. You don’t even need to cast a spell; they’ve all already been pre-charmed. Just add whatever ingredients you need, and it cooks it up to the right temperature in a matter of minutes. And all for only seven sickles.” The woman finished proudly.

“Awesome! This would be so much cooler than our microwave at home.” Ling exclaimed. The woman gave a confusing smile.

“Micro what?” she asked Ling.

“Our Microwave at ‘ome, it’s not half as cool as this. How much are seven sickles in pounds?” she asked the woman.

“What’s a microwave? And what are pounds?” asked the woman even more confused.

Ling almost believed that the woman was joking, but remembered that Cho had said that some members of the Wizarding World had never seen some Muggle items before. “Well a microwave is like a special caldron for muggles that cooks, and reheats food. And a pound is the type of Muggle money for the United Kingdom.”

“Oh fascinating” said the woman honestly. “But we don’t take Muggle money here, you’ll need to go to Gringatto’s to get your money exchanged” she said politely.

After Cho and her mates had looked around for a short time they headed to the Apothecary, where witches and wizards bought their potion supplies. Ling and Sally looked around at all the oddities, which included jars of herbs, buzzard feathers and vampire fangs. Cho was showing Ling some of the herbs used in healing mixtures when they heard Sally suddenly scream from another part of the store.

“Ewwww! Grosse!” she screamed horrified. Cho and Ling ran up to her to see what was wrong.

“What is it Sally, what’s wrong?” Cho asked concerned.

“It’s horrible all the sick stuff they have here! Just look at some of these things. Beetle eyes, snake liver, bat dung, and loads of other horrible stuff.” Sally continued. Cho looked over the store’s wears, not being able to see what the big deal was. It was all just standard items for important potions people used every day.

“Well Sally, you really need all this stuff if you want to make particular potions, like for example, spring-vertal potion, which when drank, allows you to jump twice your normal distance, needs to have a healthy supply of Newt tails in it. And beetle eyes are very useful in a lot of healing potions.” said Cho.

“Oh, it’s just that…well, it’s all still kind of gorse, like when we have to dissect a frog in biology class. Are we getting anything from here?” finished Sally.

“No, not this time. I just thought you and Ling might like to see some of the shops.

Cho and her cousins made their way down to a towering snowy-white building with burnished bronze doors. Sally and Ling looked up at it amazed. “This is Gringatto’s. It’s run entirely by goblins. They were nice enough to give dad a job here. He works as an accountant, and this is where you can get your money exchanged into Gallons, Sickles, and Kuntz. I’m not sure what the exchange rate is right now though.

“Cho aren’t goblins dangerous monsters?” Ling asked.

“Oh, no Ling, that’s trolls you’re thinking of. Goblins are magical creatures. Some are good; some are bad, just like Muggles, and Wizarding people.” Cho explained.

“Cho, will you exchange our money? I haven’t the foggiest idea on how to do it.” Sally exclaimed. Cho took her cousin’s money, and stood in the exchange queue until it was her turn at the window. A particularly old, angry looking goblin with razor sharp teeth, and pointy ears looked down at her. Cho recognized him as Bolbokie Glute, her father’s boss. “Good day Miss Chang, and how can I help you.” He said in sneering goblin, a language that Cho had learned to a small extent while helping her father during the summers at their home in Motherwell. Mr. Glute was not being impolite; it was just the culture of goblins to be vicious sounding in mannerisms and speech. Cho responded in broken goblin that she was fine, and needed to exchange Muggle money for Wizard money. “Miss Chang! Your gobbling speak is getting uncomprehendable, perhaps you should take goblin as an elective at your school this year.” Mr. Glute grumbled.

“Oh, sorry Mr. Glute, but Hogwart’s doesn’t offer goblin speak, and I’ve got two electives already this year.” She continued in Goblin language as Mr. Glute strained to understand a couple of the words.

“They don’t offer goblin in Hogwart’s? I would have thought more of a school with such a prestigious reputation. Tragedy, but at least _you_ know some goblin and that makes you loads abou’ve most other people who come in here as far as I’m concerned” he grumbled. “Alright, let’s see the Muggle money. The exchange rate today is three sickles and two knuts for every one pound note, and one galleon for every ten pounds, two quid” said Mr. Glute.

“Oh my! It’s gone up, just since last month.” Cho said surprised as she handed in her own money and her cousin’s money.

“Yes, but we’re making a killing, and that’s all that’s important you know. Normally it would take you a long wait to get it, but seeing as your father has put in a lot of extra work lately, I guess I can have your money brought up to you. Wait here while I have someone fetch it. But don’t expect this treatment all the time. I wouldn’t want you to get too comfy.” Mr. Glute growled.

“Thank you sir, I’m very grateful, I’d already run out of Wizarding money by the time I left stationers. Um, Mr. Glute, do you think that I could go say hi to dad for just a minute?” Cho asked eagerly in broken goblin.

Bolbokie Glute gave her a look of disgust. “ **No.** Your father has far too much work to do to waste it with an attention seeking little school girl.” He sneered again, and turned his back on her and walked away. Cho knew it was noting personal; she had met too many goblins in her life, and knew that they insulted even their friends. And the Chang family was about as close to friends with some of the higher ups at Gringatto’s as a human could get, but she was still disappointed that she would not get to see her father until he took her to King’s Cross for her last ride to her school on the Hogwart’s Express. When a goblin said no, you didn’t ask a second time. And Mr. Glute’s offer to have someone bring the money to her was a very kind gesture coming from a goblin. Her father must be winning a lot of friends over at work.

After collecting the money and handing it back to her cousin’s with the information on the exchange rates, Cho and her cousins continued down Diagon Alley window shopping, with her cousins looking around. Finally they came to Ollivanders: Makers of fine wands since 382 BCE. “Oh Cho! We’ve got to go into this one!” shouted Sally.

“Oh yes, please! It would be the coolest shop yet! I need to pick out a wand for when I go to Hogwarts. You know to practice.”

Cho smiled, “Alright, but Ling, you have to be at least seventeen to use magic at home. And you won’t be ready for a wand until you turn eleven.”

“Alright, but at least it won’t hurt to lo…” Ling stopped as she saw an athletic, looking girl with curly brown hair, in blue jeans and a black sweat shirt that said “The Weird Sisters” on it sneaking up behind Cho. When the girl realized that she had caught Ling’s eye, she put her finger to her smiling mouth to indicate that Ling should not give her away. Ling looked at Cho, and continued, still watching the girl sneak up behind her. We’ll I was just saying…that …it would be ok…to look…” she stammered trying to keep her eyes off the girl, so Cho and Sally wouldn’t turn around.

“What’s wrong Ling?” Cho asked as her cousin stammered, distracted. An instant before she turned to see what had warranted Ling’s attention, an arm reached around her neck and pulled her head down to the persons waste.

“Monkey Shine!” shouted the girl’s voice as she took her free hand and proceeded to rub the top of Cho’s head with her knuckles in a rough painful, but playful way.

“Ahhhh, cut it out Beverly!” Cho screamed in annoyance. Cho finally broke free of her friends iron grip. After a few seconds of recovery, Cho rubbed her head. “Why must you always do that? It hurts.”

“Oh come on Cho. I was just kidding, and you know, that’s just my thing that I do.” Beverly said in a thick Welsh accent. Cho smiled.

“Well it’s really good to see you again!” said Cho as the two of them hugged. Cho turned to her cousins who were giggling at her misfortune. “You two, this is my good friend Beverly Jones. She’s in my house at school. And she does _this_ all the time.” Cho said still rubbing her head. “Beverly these are my cousins, Sally and Ling.” She finished.

“A pleasure to meet you both, Cho’s told me so much about you these last few months. My dad and brothers are muggles too.” She said with a bright smile.

Sally and Ling both shook Beverly’s hand and introduced themselves. After a brief but pleasant conversation about how long Cho and Beverly had known each other, Beverly wanted to know what their next stop was. “Okay guys where too now?” she asked in good sprits.

“We were just going to look at wands in Ollivanders. Have you ever been in there?” Ling asked.

“Sure once. Everyone knows that Ollivanders is the only place to buy the best wands. I bought this wand there.” Beverly pulled out an eight inch birch wand, and held it up for them all too see.

“Too amazing!” shouted Sally. “Can we see some magic?” she asked pleadingly.

“Of course, unlike young Cho here, who’s gonna have to wait until October third, I’m a legal adult, who’s not restricted by silly laws like no use of underage magic. Poor dear.” Beverly finished pulling Cho to her to give her a sarcastic pity hug. “Humm, lets start with something simple. Luminous!” said Beverly said as she held up her wand and a bright light came out of the end of it. “But that’s simple really, and I’m sure Cho, dad has already showed you two that.” she said. Sally and Ling nodded. “Yes well did he ever make a rock into a frog?”

“No, but we’d love to see It.” said Ling as Sally nodded in agreement. Beverly bent down and picked up a lose piece of cobble stone off the street, held it in her hand and pointed her wand at it. Then she said the correct spell to morph it into a small frog. She showed Cho’s impressed cousins, and let the frog go.

“Too bad Harry Potter, or Marietta Edgencombe aren’t here, or I could show you two how to make slugs come out of peoples mouths with a really cool jinx I learned in my second year.” She said with a mischievous grin.

Cho suddenly got defensive. “Beverly, that’s not funny. Haven’t you heard, Harry saved us all from You-Know-Who You should be more respectful.” She said uneasy.

“I thought you didn’t believe the papers Cho. Only when Potter’s put in a good light I suppose huh? “Well I remember what he did to you last year, and I say the papers were right about him the first time, _Boy Who Lived_ or not, I don’t trust him after what he did too you last year.” Beverly finished a little heated.

“Look, Beverly, it was probably my entire fault, I screwed up everything for everyone last year. Even the Quidditch game, because…” Cho moaned.

“Cut it out Cho! I’m tired of you being so down on yourself. If you were such a screw-up you wouldn’t have so many friends getting your back. And I wonder when the papers were right about Potter, last year, or this year. We’ll anyway I’m sorry that he hurt you, but I’m glad he’s out of your life. He’s a bad person.” Beverly finished angrily.

“No, he’s not.” Cho said. She noticed her cousins, looks of shock, and felt really embarrassed.

“Cho, what is she talking about? You said you didn’t talk much to Harry Potter last year.” Sally said suspiciously.

“Um…well actually, he…um the thing is…” Cho stammered. Beverly gave Cho a look of disappointment, and turned to address Cho’s cousins.

“The thing is that Harry Potter is a pretentious git. He dumped Cho fifteen minutes into her first date to go out with another girl last year, and sent her crying to me and Nancy Cromwell. Would have been that wanker Marietta, but she was busy helping out as a teachers aide. Any way he was treating Cho…”

“ **Beverly please…damn you’ve got a big mouth.”** Cho said almost in tears. Beverly relented seeing her friend hurt so much.

“Alright, sorry. I won’t talk about it anymore” she said throwing up her hands.

“ **Oh, let’s just look at the wands. Okay?”** Cho said as she stormed into the shop. When the others entered they saw Mr. Ollivander watching Cho in a corner, with her face to a window.

“Well, can I help any of you?” said Mr. Ollivander. Beverly looked at Cho’s cousins, and then back at Mr. Ollivander.

“Um, they would like to try some wands please.” Beverly said in a low voice. She then whispered in Sally’s ear. “Look, you two take a look around and I’ll talk to Cho for a few minutes. I’m afraid I really upset her. That Potter is a touchy subject with her.” she finished. Beverly went up to Cho and attempted to put a comforting arm around her, that Cho brushed away. Sally and Ling then watched Cho walk out the door, as Beverly followed her.

“And what type of wand would you two be interested in?” Mr. Ollivander asked politely. Sally thought for a minute, um Cho said her wand had a Pegasus hair in it, so let’s try one of those.” she said. Ollivander had a bright smile in his silvery eyes.

“Ah, a Pegasus hair wand, now that is rare. I believe that I only sold three of them in my life. But I happen to have a couple around here somewhere. Let’s see now…” he trailed off as he looked for the wand amongst the several boxes, finally coming to one. “Ah, here we go, six inches, Pegasus hair. Give it a try, flick it about” he said handing it to Sally. Sally waved it around, to no effect, but asked to try a few more. After the third one, Mr. Ollivander spoke. “Um, maybe you’re a squib dear. The wands don’t seem to be working for you” He said apologetically.

“Oh, no. That’s my father. He’s a squib. I just need to find the right wand, so I can use magic and go to Hogwarts too.”

“Ah! I see, your mothers the family member who can use magic.” He said thinking he had understood how this girl who seemed to poses no magic got in Diagon Alley.

“No, our mum’s a muggle dentist. Our brother, cousin, and uncle are the magic users.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I’m afraid that some people just can’t use magic miss. The magic has to come from within you, and the wand is just a conductor with magical properties. At any rate you look about sixteen, and if you had any magical ability it would have been discovered long ago. It’s to late for you to attend Hogwarts now, as you start your first year at eleven.

“Oh, I see. Your turn I guess Ling.” Sally said disappointed. Ling took the wand from her sister’s hand and waved it around. As she did the boxes on the wall rattled, and looked as they were about to fall, but stayed where they were. She tried this with a few other wands with the same result.

“Well I see that you have some magical ability, but you’re not quite ready yet. When you turn eleven remember we’ll be here waiting for you.” Mr. Ollivander smiled.

Sally and Ling walked out the door of the wand shop to find Cho crying on Beverly’s shoulder as she gave her a comforting hug.

“Are you ok Cho?” Ling asked. Cho rubbed her eyes and sniffed.

“Yea, I’m good. Look, um Beverly’s going to take you two to the Quidditch shop now. I’ve got to pick up something at a joke shop for a friend real quick. I’ll meet you at the Leaky Caldron in an hour.” She said quietly.

“But Cho, why don’t you take us to the Quidditch shop? I mean you play it. Don’t you want to see all the cool stuff in the shop?” Cho bit her lip, to keep from tearing up again.

“No, I…I don’t play anymore. Just please go with Beverly, and I’ll meet up with you in an hour. You’ll have fun.” She said as she gave a smile that everyone could tell was forced. Cho walked down the alley towards Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Her eyes were starting to dry up, and she saw a familiar boy standing in the alley, with circular glasses, messy hair, and a scar the shape of a lighting bolt. Cho gasped and ducked into a doorway in front of one of the shops. She peered around to make sure she was not seeing things. No doubt about it. It was Harry. He was with two people, one of which was the famous Auror, Mad-Eye Moody, and a woman that Cho thought mite be his aunt. Okay Cho, just relax, she said to herself with labored breathing. You’ve got to do this, just go up and grovel at his feet and beg forgiveness. No! Don’t be daft, she thought. Um…just go up and say hi. Just go up and apologize for Marietta, and ask him out. Ask him if he wants to have tea. Um, ask him how he is. Damn it, I can’t think of anything to say. “Harry I love you!” She smacked herself in the head. No! Okay, just ask him out for the first Hogsmead weekend. I mean the worst he can say is no right? No, the worst he can do is bite my head off again. Hey Harry, have you see the Muggle movie “James Bond”? My cousins have it on DVD. No. OK enough, You’re just going to just go over there and apologize and ask him out. Okay here we go. Cho walked toward Harry heart rapidly beating, stomach churning, and legs queasy. She was getting ever closer to him, but he hadn’t caught sight of her yet. Soon she was only about fifteen feet away and out of the corner of her eye someone came running up to Harry and gave him a tight hug. “Hey Harry! Look what my parents gave me money to buy.”

Cho recognized her as Hermione Granger, Harry’s girlfriend. “Oh…” god I’m stupid she thought as her heart sank, and she ran in the opposite direction, before hearing anymore. Of coarse he would be here with his girlfriend. Face it Cho, you’ve lost him forever. What chance have you gotten against her, she’s pretty and smart, and not crying all the time. “Why would Harry want you!” she said to herself with tears in her eyes. She headed back to the Leaky Caldron to wait for her Beverly and her cousins, and reflect on how much she hated herself.


	10. Marietta's Gang

  


**Chapter 10: Marietta’s** **Gang**

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione stood on the Wizarding side of platform nine and three quarters catching up with what  had happened over the summer with students that passed by. The platform was busy, and several other groups of students were in huddles discussing the events of the summer holiday as well. Moody was keeping a watchful eye out for danger. Harry was receiving more thank you shouts from students and parents for defeating You-Know-Who at the Battle of the Ministry. He had to disappoint some that thought, as the papers had implied, that he had killed You-Know-Who, but assured them that it was only a matter of time, before he was defeated, just like his Death Eaters had been. Harry shook hands, received hugs, and posed for pictures. He was feeling really good. _A much better experience than last year, when no one would speak to me,_ he thought. Colin Creevey and his brother Dennis came up to Harry, enthusiastically showing him some Harry Potter  T-shirts they had made and said that they were going to sell them at Hogwarts, just as soon as they could get the picture of Harry on his broomstick, in his Quidditch uniform, to move like all the rest of the pictures in the wizarding world. 

“We would have already bewitched them to move, but were not allowed to use magic at home yet, so we’ll do it in the dorms when we get to school!” Colin said proudly. 

Ron spoke.  “Oh come on guys, I mean, Harry doesn’t need all that attention that…” 

Harry cut Ron off in mid-sentence.  “No! Ron…I think it’s a good idea. After all, I do have my fans to think of." He turned back to the brothers. "Well, you two have been after my autograph for a long time. Would you like me to sign two of the shirts for you?” Harry asked with a smile.

“Really? Right proper!” Colin and Dennis said in unison, as Ron looked on in shocked confusion. Colin immediately produced a quill, and Harry signed his picture on a few shirts. After Harry had talked to the Creevey brothers for a bit, they left to talk to a few friends a little further down the platform. Harry said, "Goodbye for now" and turned to look at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He was taken aback by the look of shock on their faces.

“What?” asked Harry.

“Harry…does Gilderoy Lockhart have you under the _Imperio_ curse or something?” Ron asked. “You’ve always shied away from attention like this. It’s never been a big deal to you being who you are. Why the change?” Ron asked, concerned.

“What?  I can’t have a fan club? Ron, I spent all last year being an insane git that most of these people thought was going to hurt them. Can you imagine what it feels like to have almost the entire student body try to avoid you like the plague? To be sneered at, and talked about behind your back all year? To have the government and the newspaper say you’re a delusional freak all the time? I’ve tried to be a normal student all this time, to just blend in, and have fun and get through school. But I can’t. I’m not normal, and I’m constantly having to battle You-Know-Who, and his Death Eaters. And I have a choice to either let the Ministry go on calling me a psycho, or get them to make me a hero. Well I choose to be recognized as a hero because I think I’ve earned it, and nothing in my life can ever be normal. Remember in our fourth year when everyone was wearing _Potter Stinks_ buttons? And now they wear T-shirts with _my face on them?_ And now they bring up T-shirts for me to sign. Why shouldn’t I be famous? I’ve been shucking off my birthright for several years, and now I’m going to use it. No one believed my story last year; they all thought I was mad. Well this year things are going to be different. This year the whole school is going to support me, and not just a handful of DA members. I think I deserve a happy year at Hogwarts.” 

“Of course you do, Harry," said Hermione, "and you have so many accomplishments to be proud of. We were just caught off guard. I mean, you’ve never sought fame before. But you are right, after last year--I understand what you mean.” 

“Yeah, you deserve a bit of a break in life after all you’ve been through,” Ron added.

“Well…I’ve never tried to enjoy my fame before. This year I’m going to have a go at it,” Harry said, plainly pleased that his friends were supporting him.  

“Good for you, Harry,” Ginny put in.

Pavati Patil and her sister Padma came up to greet her four fellow Gryffindors. “Hello, Hermione, hello all. What’s new?” Pavati asked.

“Okay," said Ron, "we got to visit the Muggle areas of London, and our dad in the ministry. He says the new Minister is a git, who thinks that too many Muggle-born people are in important positions. Dad says he can’t wait until the next elections, when he’ll be out on his arse. Dad says that the only reason Fudge picked him was to get the support of some of the purebloods who have a problem with Muggle born people in the Ministry. He says that they're an important voting bloc. But no one ever imagined that he would actually become Minister like that.” Ron stated.

“Yeah, Fudge’s suicide came as a shock to everyone, but I guess you can’t blame him," said Parvati. "His credibility was ruined after Dumbledore produced the Death Eaters captured at the Ministry. Oh! And thanks so much, Harry, for defeating them all.” Parvati smiled, and shook his hand.

“Hey, you know, we were there too. We defeated You-Know-Who’s Death Eaters as well. Fought just as hard as Harry,” Ron said, lightly irritated, as he indicated himself, Hermione, and Ginny.

“But it was in all the papers how Harry saved you all after you were overwhelmed by the Death Eaters in the end, but it was brave of you to attempt to fight them.” Parvati then recounted the story in the papers. 

Harry noticed that Ron had an angry look on his face.  “Actually Parvati, I didn’t really rescue anyone. We all fought the Death Eaters together. Ron took care of a few himself. None of us were ever hostages to them. I’m going to tell Rita Skeeter to give a more accurate account of what happened soon. But just now, I want you to know that we were all heroes that day,” Harry finished proudly.

“Really? Well congratulations, Ron, and you two as well,” she said, turning to Hermione and Ginny.

“Yes, you’re very brave, Ron. You’re my hero.” It was Padma who suddenly spoke, and she gave him a peck on the cheek and a flirtatious smile that turned his frown into a smile and made him blush red.

“Err…um thanks, Padma, “he said as he fidgeted nervously.

“How was your holiday?” Hermione asked of the Patil twins.

“Really great. We went on Holliday in India, to see some of our family there. My Aunt Ekta has a broom shop there, the best in New Delhi. They even have the new Comet 350’s. And we found out that the Taj Mahal was designed after India’s Wizarding School. But the magic school is much bigger of coarse,” said Padma.

“Oh, did you hear the awful news about Iris Foxmead?” Parvati said in tragic excitement. “She was killed by a vampire attack in Dover. They found her stone dead, and drained of blood.”

“Right, I’ve been following that," replied Harry with high interest. "She’s a seventh year Hufflepuff prefect. Err…at least she was, but I don’t think I ever met her. Just saw her in the Great Hall a couple of times.”

“I read it in the _Daily Prophet_ too. Poor Iris, she was really smart, we talked last year in the prefect’s carriage on the way to school and back. What a horrible way to die.” Hermione stated sadly.  

Ginny, who had been silent up to now, entered the conversation, wide-eyed.  “Wow, I really thought it was safe. I mean with vampire attacks being so rare. I mean there’s really no need for them to do this anymore, now that they own and operate so many blood banks.” 

“Well, they are asking everyone in the vampire and magical community if they have any information,” Hermione added.

“Five minutes everyone, five minutes to boarding,” The porters started to yell.

“Oh! We’d better get going.” Hermione exclaimed. The group boarded the train together, and Hermione and Ron headed off to the prefects' carriage after telling Harry and Ginny that they would see them later. The Patil twins said that they were going to visit one of their cousins in another carriage.

Harry and Ginny eventually found Neville Longbottom in one of the last cars. They put up their trunks and other gear, and Harry put Hedwig in her cage on the floor. Then they sat down with him.

“How was your holiday?” said Harry.

“Great!” said Neville with excessive excitement. “After my grandmother found out about my part in the Battle of the Ministry, she bought me a new wand and broom. She didn’t even care that I broke my father’s wand. She said that she had never been more proud of me. I also got a letter from my favorite teacher, Professor Sprout, telling me how proud she was of me, and that she hopes I take Herbology again as an elective, so she can thank me in person.” He pulled out an eight inch oak wand with black coils around the end to show both of his friends. “It’s got a dragon scale in it. A Norwegian Ridgeback! And that’s not all; my broom is a Nimbus two-thousand. See?” Neville said as he pointed to the black-handled broom propped up against the corner of the carriage.

 “Well that’s great Neville, and by the way, I never got to thank you properly for your help in the battle. I’m really glad you were there that day. Thanks, both of you.,” he said, turning to Ginny.

“Anytime,” she said, smiling.

“I’m glad I could help capture some Death Eaters. My parents would be proud if only they could know.,” Neville said, a little sad. His parents had been Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s secret force created to fight the Dark Lord Voldermort. Many years ago Neville’s parents had been attacked by a particularly horrid servant of Voldermort named Bellatrix Lestrange, who put the _Crucio_ curse on them until they had been driven insane. Neville visited them every summer in St. Mungo’s, but they never really knew he was there. They never really would know anything, anymore.

“How…have you been to see your parents this summer?” asked Harry.

“Of course, they are the same, but I went to visit them three times this summer at St. Mungo’s. I saw Cho Chang there the first time I went,” Neville finished.

“Oh, and how is she?” asked Ginny, after Harry failed to reply.

“Well, we really didn’t talk. I just saw her crying, and being comforted by a man I thought was her father. I didn’t think she was up to a chat, and neither was I really,” he said.

"Humm…that sounds like Cho Chang alright, always with the tears, Harry said contemptuously.

“And you didn’t find out why she was there?” Ginny asked, concerned.

“I think she was visiting her mum, but she must have gotten better because I asked the Healer that I had seen her dad talking to once, and she said that they had left. Of course she couldn’t say more than that. You know Healer-patient privilege and all." Harry and Ginny nodded their understanding.

“Well, I’m glad that it was nothing serious if they went home,” Harry said.

The door to the carriage opened, and a petite, pretty, blond-haired girl with green eyes walked in with her steamer trunk and broom in her hands and a chameleon lizard on her shoulder.

“I’ll get that for you.” said Neville, as he got up to help her put her steamer trunk in the overhead bin.

“Thanks. All the carriages are full up. I couldn’t even sit by my sweetheart this trip,” she said, as she sat down beside Neville. Ginny looked at the beautiful lizard on her shoulder. It had two bulging eyes and what looked like a shark’s dorsal fin on its head. A sharp looking spine ran down the back of its green, yellow, and brown colored body.

“Cool lizard! What’s its name?” asked Ginny.

“It’s Shadow, and I’m Gloria Kingston,” she said, extending her hand to each of them in turn.

“It’s good to meet you, Gloria. I’m Ginny Weasley, this is Neville Longbottom, and this is Harry Potter." Gloria’s face was pleasant until she heard Harry’s name.

 She gave a muted snort “Oh, Potter, yes I see now. I should have recognized you from your pictures, and the scar." 

It was at the snort that Gloria made that Harry realized something about her that he had overlooked. She was wearing a green and silver tie, and upon closer inspection he also noticed that her chameleon’s tail was covering up a silver snake set against a green crest.

“You’re in Slytherin!” said Harry, surprised.

“That’s right. Best house in Hogwarts.” Gloria said with a large amount of pride. She looked at the crest on the robes of her fellow students. “And you’re all Gryffindors. Sorry about you losing the House and Quidditch cups this year,” she said with a smirk.

“What do you mean?” asked Neville, a bit confused.

“Well, we Slytherins plan to stop your winning streak this year, and put the two cups back in Slytherin where they belong. And of course, silver and green are much better colors to decorate the Great Hall with.” She smiled as she closed her eyes, probably to picture the image of Slytherin‘s banners lining the ceiling.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but Gryffindor is going to win the House Cup this year. We've always won since I came to Hogwarts.” Harry said with a pride matching Gloria’s.

“We're going to win the Quidditch cup as well,” injected Neville.

“Well, we’ll have to see about that,” Gloria replied coolly.

“I for one can’t wait to get back on the Quidditch pitch again, grabbing the Snitch and…” Ginny was cut off by Harry.

“You’re not going to be Seeker this year,” Harry said in a serious tone.

“Wh…why not?” Ginny asked.

“Because I’m going to be Gryffindor Seeker and team captain. I already sent in my request to Professor McGonagall last month,” Harry beamed.

“And got the reply?” asked Ginny.

“Yes. Professor McGonagall was aware of my natural leadership ability, and with Umbridge out of the way, things are back to normal. But don’t worry, Ginny; I’ll make sure you and Ron are on the team. You can be a Chaser.” Harry said happily.

“That’s great! Congratulations Harry,” said Ginny very happy for him.

“Yeah, great job, Harry!” Neville put in.

“Well, don’t celebrate too soon. Everyone knows that Slytherin has the best Seeker in Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy,” Gloria said.

“Ha! Yeah, I wonder how he’s going to concentrate when I’m teasing him during the match, about his dad being in Azkaban,” said Harry with a malicious grin.

“His father is not in Azkaban with the Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy is a great, upstanding citizen who’s being kept in a cell at the Ministry until it’s proven that he was under the _Imperio_ curse, and is therefore innocent,” Gloria countered.

“Rubbish! I was there. He was acting of his own free will. I was there. I saw. He and Draco are happy that You-Know-Who has returned,” Harry said, angry and turning red. Gloria just gave him a dirty look. “ _Draco!_ ”  Harry jumped out of his seat. “That reminds me. I forgot. I’ll be right back,” he said quickly, as he headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” asked Neville.

“Oh. I just remembered I have something I have to do,” Harry finished. Just as he got to the door, it opened, and Ron and Hermione stepped in.

“Hi Harry, we…” Ron started, but was cut off.

“Oh Ron…Hermione, hey listen…wait right here for me, will you? I’ll be back soon,” Harry said urgently.

“But, Harry, where…” Hermione started.

“Be back soon, guys! Uh, get to know Gloria. Neville will introduce you.”

“But we have something to tell you, Harry. You’ll never guess who Head Girl is this…”

“Just please wait right here—please,” Harry said. Ron and Hermione both looked at each other and gave a shrug. Then they turned to the other occupants of the carriage.

“Hi! I’m Gloria.” said the blond haired girl with the lizard on her shoulder.

“Hi!” they both said in unison.

Harry ducked out the door and into the next carriage.

~*~

Harry made his way through the carriages of the train, shaking the hands of several students, who congratulated him for his victory at the Ministry as he went. As he was making his way through the fifth carriage, he realized his shoe was untied and stopped to correct the problem. The pause allowed him to overhear a conversation between the only three occupants in the hall of the carriage, three girls whose backs were to him, and who were not yet aware of his presence.

“Imagine that stupid bitch and her friends pulling wands on us," the first girl said in a fit of rage.  "How dare they! What a collection of useless gits: a Mudblood, a retard, and a Chink! I’ve never been so offended in my life.” 

“Don’t worry, we’ll get even with them soon enough! But what’s a Chink, Marietta?” the second girl asked.

“It’s a derogatory term used by Muggles to insult ethnically Chinese people. Quite witty, actually,” the first girl said.

“But Marietta, ethnicity has never mattered in the wizarding world. We only care about the purity of a person’s magical lineage,” the third girl put in. Her voice sounded familiar to Harry.

“I know that. But it still hurt her feelings, and that’s what I was going for. Besides, we’ll soon have her on our side, if all goes according to plan.”  Marietta added in.

“Where did you learn a Muggle insult like that anyway?” asked the second girl.

“ _He_ told me. He’s been living among them causing chaos in their society for generations. It’s what his kind have always done. Rather ingenious ways of doing it too. And there’s more than that. I’ve learned a lot of other Muggle insults from him to really hurt people who are different. Even if the insults don’t mean anything too me, it’s still going to be fun to watch them cry. But that’s nothing compared to what I’ve been learning in the dark books I’ve been reading. I have ways of getting even with them all that will insure that we never get caught. This is going to be our best year at Hogwarts ever.” Marietta finished. Harry’s nose started to twitch and he suddenly let out a sneeze.

“ **Ah-choo!”** he sneezed loudly. The three girls turned to face him in surprise. They were all holding folders against their bodies with bright pink leaflets sticking out of them. He recognized two of the girl’s faces, Marietta Edgecombe, and Pansy Parkinson. Pansy had lost a considerable amount of weight over the summer. The third girl he didn’t know, but she looked as unhappy to see him as Pansy Parkinson. But Marietta smiled at him, and walked over.

“Being nosy, Potter?” she asked casually. “We will talk soon enough, _Mudblood_ , but for now, I think you need to pretend that you didn’t hear any of this conversation. I think you need to reflect on a different memory. Here let me help you to forget,” she said with a shake of her head as she pulled out her wand and pointed it at Harry. Harry reached for his own wand just seconds too late, as he heard Marietta utter that word that Gilderoy Lockhart once tried on him. “Obliviate!” Harry was blinded by a bright flash from Marietta’s wand.

_**~*~** _

Cho Chang and Beverly Jones were standing on the train station platform with their fathers, while a slow trickle of students passed them to board the Hogwarts Express. As the two men engaged in a conversation about the Muggle economy, Cho and Beverly were busy chatting with several other students, catching up on the interesting events of everyone's summer holiday. Everyone they met talked about trips they had taken, friends they had hung out with, and shopping they had done, but the primary subjects of the day were two things. The first was that _The Harry Potter_ would be returning to Hogwarts, and the second was that Iris Foxmead, who was to have been a seventh-year Hufflepuff prefect, had been killed in a vampire attack. Nancy Cromwell and Jeremy Stretton, a couple of Ravenclaw seventh-year students came up to the two of them. Nancy was wearing her long blond hair in a ponytail, and wore a crimson red t-shirt, with the Union Jack printed on it, and khaki shorts, with green flip flops. Cold weather never seemed to bother her, and she had earned the playful nickname “Eskimo” from a lot of students because of her style of sporting the lightest of clothing even in freezing temperatures.

The four students exchanged greetings. “Hey Cho, is it really true? Are you really not going out for Quidditch this year?” Jeremy asked.

“Um, yeah, I uh…lost interest in it. I really was never that good in the first place. Um, I know you will do great this year. But I’m so far behind on my school work that I’ve got to spend any time I’ve got in class catching up on that." Cho had been caught off guard by her teammate's question and looking for an excuse to explain why she didn’t stay with the team without actually admitting that she believed herself to be the worst Quidditch player in history.

“Well…sorry to hear that. But you actually were a great player, looks like we’ll have to find a new Seeker.” Jeremy said.

“Who’s team captain this year?” Cho asked.

“I am. And I’ve got a lot of new strategies that I’ve been mapping out all summer to win the Cup this year,” he said proudly. “By the way, Roger Davies sent me an owl; he says he’s training to be an Auror. He’s been in training for three weeks, and it only takes twelve,” Jeremy continued.

“That’s great,. I know that Roger will do well; he always was a natural leader,” Cho said.

“Yeah, I’m happy for him too. I know he’ll do well.” Beverly stated. Nancy gave Jeremy a kiss on the cheek.

“Baby, let's try and find an empty compartment,” she whispered in Jeremy’s ear, with a flirtatious smile, as she stroked his hair lovingly. He blushed.

“Err…well, we’ll see you two in class; we want to get good seats. Something a little private,” he said with a mischievous grin. Cho and Beverly giggled as the two left.

“Well, we’d better find a carriage too before they all fill up, and we can’t sit together," Beverly said.

“Okay, but I need to say goodbye to dad in private. I’ll be right back,” Cho said apologetically.

“No problem, me too. Let's meet by the third car,” Beverly replied.

Cho and her father moved over by a metal column away from the other people on the platform. “Dad, I need you to send me an owl everyday to tell me how Mum is. I still feel guilty about leaving her,” Cho said somberly.

“Don’t worry, Cho; she’s going to be alright. She has the best care in the world. The doctor says that we won’t know if they got all the cancer until they run some more tests. But I have a good feeling about it, and I’ll let you know as soon as I find out. I’ll keep you posted every week. Just concentrate on your school work, and bring your marks up.” 

Cho felt guilty; her grades had been very poor last year, and she was really going to have to put in some extra effort this year to finish up. She had neglected to take summer makeup classes so she could be with her mum, so she wasn’t going to have a lot of free time to herself this year. _Oh well_ she thought, _at least I know what I’ll be doing instead of Quidditch practice._

“Before you go, I have something for you,” Mr. Chang said, pulling out a small gold hexagonal box the size of a matchbox. Cho looked at it. It had several Chinese element characters carved on it and a gold chain necklace attached to it. The top had two Chinese water dragons carved on it, and it opened to reveal an empty compartment. “It’s called _ài rén rú j_ _Ç� -bì hù”,_ you understand?  'Love Protection.' It’s a special magical item that’s been in our family for generations. Our ancestors used it for protection against Mongol wizards in ancient wars, to protect themselves. If the papers are right, and You-Know-Who is still out there, I want you to keep this to protect yourself. It will keep you safe when you are in the most danger. It can only be used once by each person who uses it, and I already used it long ago,” Mr. Chang said in a very serious, but concerned tone.

“But Dad…we should give this to Mum, if it protects people, then maybe…” Cho started.

“It doesn’t work on protracted illness, Cho. And she’s safe from You-Know-Who. If he’s back, he’s not going after the Muggle world—not yet, anyway,” Mr. Chang said. Cho opened the top of the box and looked in it. It appeared to be empty.

“Is there supposed to be something in here?” she asked, curious. Mr. Chang smiled.

“There is much in there, but you can’t see it. It will only reveal itself when you are in great danger. I hope you will never have to use it, and you probably won’t, but just in case it’s nice to have. Keep it close to your heart, Cho,” he finished as he placed it around her neck. Cho turned around, and pulled up her hair, so her father could hook the two ends of the necklace together. She then faced him again.

“Daddy, please tell everyone I’ll miss them, and thanks again for everything they’ve done for us. I’ll send you all an owl when I’m settled in. I love you, Daddy!” Cho finished, as she hugged her father tightly, with a tear in her eye.

Mr. Chang gave her a tight squeeze. “I love you too, Cho, and don’t worry,; things are going to get a lot better. I know it. Now hurry along, Beverly is waiting for you.”

Cho and Beverly found a carriage with two available seats after a brief search. As luck would have it, Luna Lovegood was the only other occupant of the carriage, and Cho was overjoyed to see her.

“ **Luna!”** Cho shouted with glee, and gave her a hug that squeezed the breath out of her. “How have you been? How was your holiday to Norway?” 

      Luna smiled. “Hey Cho, hello Beverly, how are you guys?” she said, returning Cho’s hug and exchanging a less oxygen-draining one with Beverly. Then Luna sat back down, and pulled out a copy of the Quibbler and showed it to Beverly and Cho, pointing to a picture on the front of Luna and her dad moving about against a snowy background. The picture appeared to be blurred. The two of them were moving off to one side of the picture, and both would point to an empty patch of ground in the snow every so often with excitement.

“There you see! An actual Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. I told you we’d gotten one. But we’ll be lucky enough to see it alive in Care of Magical Creatures class. It was a lot of work bringing him down. Dad and I had to use several Stunning Spells apiece on him, but we finally got old Blizzard to sleep. Blizzard, that what were calling him.” 

   Beverly examined the picture.  “Um, Luna, I actually don’t see anything but you and your father in the picture. And I thought that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks weren’t real. Is it out of camera range?”  she asked.

“No. It’s right there," Luna said, pointing to an empty, blurry space on the picture. It’s invisible,” Luna said.

“Oh…ye…yes, I see it, Luna, Cho said. It, uh…looks…cool.”  she was embarrassed for her friend but did not want to hurt her feelings. 

Beverly looked at Cho, in disbelief.  “Oh come on…I… **Ouch!”** Beverly was interrupted by a sharp pain from Cho kicking her in the leg and giving her a play-along-with-it look. Beverly turned her attention to the picture again.

“Oh yes! I…I see it now. Very cool, Luna. Congratulations.” Beverly patted her on the back.

“Thanks!” Luna said, pleased. Beverly opened the door of the compartment.

“Well, if you two will excuse me for a minute, I’ve got to be off to the lavatory. Be right back,” she said as she walked out the door on her way to the carriage that held the lavatories, the one everyone jokingly dubbed the “honey-wagon”

"My friend Bridgett should be here soon.  She’s a second year Hufflepuff. We met in the DA class. Cho, is Harry having them again this year?” Luna asked.

“I…don’t know…I… we haven’t talked. I …well… haven’t seen him yet,” Cho said sadly. Luna looked confused— even more so than usual. 

“Haven’t talked yet? That’s odd. I asked Ron Weasley to have him write you.,” Luna said casually. Cho’s face turned to one of excessive embarrassment.

“Oh Luna, I wish you hadn’t done that. I…” The door slid open, interrupting Cho, and Marietta Edgencombe stormed in flanked by Danielle Forester and Pansy Parkinson on her left and right sides, holding folders in one hand and wands in the other. Marietta started screaming at Cho without hesitation as her mates stood by, smirking. 

“ **You stupid, Mudblood-loving, Chink bitch! How dare you send me a Howler! This is what comes from hanging out with the likes of those slime you call your friends. You have lost respect for the people who you need to be hanging around. The pure people. Now you’re just acting like a pretentious little git! Well rest assured,** _ **Chang**_ **, soon you’ll be begging me to take you back into my circle of friends, and you’ll be lucky if I don’t make you grovel after your little stunt. You know, eventually Mudbloods like Potter and Jones are going to be out of this school, and out of the Ministry. A lot of positions are going to open up at the Ministry. If you want me to get you a job after you leave school, you’d better start kissing my arse now to show your regret!** ” Her face was flushed red with anger. Then Marietta suddenly changed her tone to almost a whisper. “Or maybe I should transfigure your head into a mushroom to give you a taste of what happens to people who mess with me.” She finished by waving her wand about as Pansy and Danielle giggled behind her. Cho and Luna pulled out their wands, ready to protect themselves from the trio, and for the first time, Marietta noticed Luna. “Hey, I know you! You’re that stupid little girl whose father runs that joke of a magazine. Ital> _The Quizler_ ,” Marietta said with a slight aire of disapproval.

“ _The Quibbler_ ,” Luna corrected her.

“Yeah, like I care,” Marietta said casually. Marietta looked Luna over and turned to Cho. “You know, Cho…I really have to say, sometimes even when you befriend Purebloods, they are still not the _right_ kind of people.”

“Well, you’re absolutely right about that, Marietta; after all I made the mistake of befriending you,” Cho said with a look of anger on her face. Cho heard the door open behind Marietta and her gang.

Marietta’s face became even redder, and she and her cohorts pointed their wands at Cho and Luna.

“Cute Chang, real cute. But it’s three to two, you’re a Chink, and your friend's retarded. So it looks like I will be putting the Mushroom-Head Jinx on you today,” she said as her friends let out vicious laughs. 

Suddenly Marietta was grabbed around the neck from behind and had a wand stuck against her head.

“Actually it’s more like three to three," Beverly Jones said as she held her wand at Marietta’s temple. "Cho’s actually Scottish-Chinese, Luna’s very bright, and you three are the only retards in this compartment. Now I agree with one thing you said though. I myself am curious to see the effects of the Mushroom-Head Jinx, as well. So please, Fuckhead, give me an excuse”.

“Stay out of this Jones," Marietta replied nervously.  "It’s…nnn…none of your business. It’s nothing to…d…d…do with you.” Danielle, and Pansy continued pointing their wands at Cho and Luna, not sure what to do.

“When you mess with my friends, it has everything to do with me. Now…shall I demonstrate the Mushroom-Head Jinx, or are you going to tell your fiends to put up their wands. Either way works for me, but I’m really keen to give the jinx a go,” Beverly said happily. Marietta hesitated for a moment.” "Okay you asked for it! _Fungu…”_

“ **Okay! Stop! Stop!”** Marietta screamed. She strained to look over at her two companions through the head lock she was in. P…p…put your wands away, guys." Danielle and Pansy put their wands back in their robes, disappointed, and Marietta did the same with the wand she still clutched in her hand. Beverly released her from the head lock, and gave her a sarcastic smile. “Too bad really. Well, anytime you change your mind about letting me try the Mushroom-Head Jinx just let me know. I’m ready anytime you want to start something.”

Marietta gave her a dirty look but dared not say anything out of genuine fear.

Cho peered at Marietta angrily, and noticed the silver badge on Marietta’s sweater for the first time. It was the Hogwart’s crest with the words “Head Girl” across the front. “Hey, what’s this then? You’re not Head Girl. You’re not even a prefect. Jill Tanaka is our seventh-year prefect.”

“No you stupid Chink. **I** am _Head Girl_! Jill Tanaka has dropped out due to the git getting pregnant over the summer holiday. They needed to choose a new seventh-year Ravenclaw prefect over the summer, and **I** got the letter. Since it became official before they selected the Head Girl, and I had higher marks than any other seventh year, had more electives to my credit, and worked tirelessly for Professor Umbridge as an aide, _I…was…selected…Head Girl,_ ” Marietta said in a condescending tone.

“But that’s impossible. You were with me all the time last year. You wouldn’t have had time to work for Umbridge,” Cho said accusingly.

“Noooooo. I was with you half the time last year, the part of your time that you spent with the right people, and regretfully all those times we had to spend in the stupid DA classes. But all the times you went to spend with people like _her_ , I was working for Professor Umbridge,” She said pointing at Beverly Jones.

“But…you were…a spy for Umbridge all along? You planned the whole thing with the DA?” Cho said in shock. Marietta put her hand on her head and gave Cho a look of sincere pity.

“No you stupid chink, I…” 

“ **Stop calling me that!”** Cho cried. 

   Beverly stuck the wand to Marietta’s head.  “I’m fascinated by your story, but if you insult my friend one more time, _you’ll regret it_. Now continue, but respectfully,” Beverly said in a cautioning tone. Marietta gave her a dirty look but pressed on.

“ _You_ invited _me_ to the DA class, or I wouldn’t have known about them. You knew I hated Potter, but you tried to change my mind about him. I went with you because we were friends, but I hated every minute I was there. I didn’t tell Umbridge at first so I wouldn’t get you in trouble. I still had hopes of persuading you to go against him. It seems we both failed in our efforts to convince each other to see eye to eye. But when I realized that you would not change I had to make sacrifices for the good of society. So I told Umbridge, and those little clandestine meetings were broken up at the expense of my summer-- and a lot of physical pain. My goal was to get Potter expelled. With him even more a villain than the papers portrayed, it would be safe for the Ministry to put in more teachers like Professor Umbridge. The right kind of teachers.”

“Sooo…how does that make you Head Girl?" Cho asked, confused as to where Marietta was going with this.  "Umbridge was chased out of Hogwarts. Dumbledore would never allow someone like you to be the Head Girl.” 

“It’s simple really. As I was of great help to Professor Umbridge, I got her recommendation, and high marks. Flitwick had to give me points for my service to her whether he liked it or not, because it was in service to _the legal authority of the school_. Now you also know that when it comes to studying, I’m the hardest working student in the school, with all the electives, and extra credit work I do. So I had the highest marks of any prefect. And finally there is Dumbledore himself. He…despite his questionable actions at the Ministry of Magic last year, is a fair man and puts a lot of stock in following the rules. That means not picking whoever he wants as Head Girl. So they had to choose me. _I_ was the most qualified.” Marietta finished with a great aire of posh “So why are ya spilling your guts to us now?” Cho asked slack-jawed. Marietta gave her an evil look that seemed to send a chill up Cho’s spine.

“To know the answer to that, look at the people in this room that you oppose: the Head Girl, a Slytherin Prefect, and their best friend. If you three get out of line this year, we will be watching, and believe me, we will make your life difficult. _I_ told you the story because _I_ don’t want you to have any doubt about how difficult _I_ can make it for all of you, Cho. Furthermore, let me just say…” 

   Beverly cut her off.  “Alright, shut up! You're really boring me with your narcissistic blather. Get out, the lot of you, before I make it _really_ difficult on all of you!" Marietta left, followed by her gang, to the pleasure of everyone in the compartment.

_Gits_ ,” Beverly said with a yawn.

After talking amongst themselves about all the ways Marietta showed herself to be a stupid git, and about things they did over the summer, Cho excused herself to go to the lavatory. When she made it to the door of the lavatory car, the door opened, and Harry Potter staggered through. 

   Cho’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh! Uh…Harry. Harry I…how are you?” she choked out. Harry looked at her in a daze.

“I forgot where I was going,” he said shaking his head in confusion. “Where is Draco?”

“Who?” Cho asked, not understanding his behavior.

“Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin prefect. I…I was looking for him… I…” his knees almost buckled. Cho held Harry to steady him.

“Harry, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Cho asked, concerned.

“Cho? Cho Chang?” Harry said, still dizzy.

“Yes, Harry, it’s me. Come and sit down in my carriage. I’ll get you some water,” she said calmly.

“You, you brought M…Mar…Marietta to my DA class. You got the cla…cla…class broken up. It’s all your fault. You…” he said, obviously enraged, but still too dizzy to muster the strength to yell at her.

“Harry…I…I’m sorry about Marietta. I want to take it back. Please forgive me. If I had known she would…I would have never brought her to the class. I’m so sorry,” Cho pleaded in tears.

“You betrayed me…I…I remember… _your_ fault. Harry stammered. “Get away from me!” He started to get really angry.

“But Harry please, let me help you! You need…” Cho begged.

“ **I said leave! Just…leave!”** Harry screamed angrily. Cho’s face was streaming with tears. She tried to speak but no words came out, and her throat hurt severely. She ran off to the lavatory to cry in private. She would be in there for most of the remainder of the trip. 

~*~

   Harry sat on the ground by the door. “I…I remember,” he said to himself, not sure why he remembered it with such rage, not sure why he had just yelled at Cho Chang, and not sure why he was sitting in the aisle of the honey wagon. All he could remember was leaving his friends in the last carriage of the train, and that it was all Cho’s fault that the DA was broken up. Odd that he should meet her, when he was thinking so hard on the subject. 


	11. The Thirty Consequences of a Bad Intention

 

**Chapter 11: The Thirty Consequences of a Bad Intention**

After a while, Harry regained his wits, and strength. He didn’t know what had happened to him between his carriage and the one upon whose floor, he now sat, but he remembered where he was on his way to. Harry pulled himself up and proceeded towards the prefect’s carriage at the front of the train. He had hoped that he wouldn’t need to burst in on all the prefects in doing what he was about to do, but he would if necessary. But as luck would have it he would not have to, as he saw Draco Malfoy, flanked by his friends Crab, and Golye, walking towards him from the opposite end of the hall of the carriage. There was only one other student besides Draco, his mates and Harry in the hall. Harry pulled out his wand as he approached the trio. The three of them all caught site of Harry at once. Draco’s face became twisted with rage.

“ **Hey Potter…”** Draco started, but was cut off as Harry pointed his wand at the three of them.

“ **Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Stupefy!”** Harry yelled as Crab and Golye fell to the floor with two loud thuds, and Draco’s wand ripped from his robes, and fell to the ground. **“Accio wand”** Harry continued as Draco’s wand flew into his other hand. Harry approached a shocked Draco and held both wands to his head. The other occupant of the train stumbled over Crabs unconscious body to get out of the carriage, and away from the chaos. “ _Now Draco_ , You and I are going to have a little talk that we should have had long ago. Every year we’ve attended school, I’ve had to constantly deal with constant harassments by you three, from the train ride to school to the train ride back. Now I know this year that you’re going to feel more motivated to do it than ever because I put your fathers in jail, but rest assured if I get any flack from you three, I will _make you all pay!_ Now…I don’t want to start any trouble, I want to have a nice school year for a change. You should want that for yourself too. So I’ll make a deal. You three stay out of my way, and…I’ll stay out of yours. What I mean by that is no taunts off the Quidditch Pitch, no buttons that say anything like Potter Stinks, and no harassing me in general. Because Prefect or not! I’m really stressed out right now, and I may not be responsible for my own actions. _Do you understand me?_ ” Harry said with as much calm as he could muster.

“You look here Potter…if you think you’re going to tell me what to do, think again! I’m not afraid of you, and if you attack students without provocation you’ll be suspended, or even expelled! And as you pointed out _I am a prefect_ , and you’re going to be reported for this!” Draco said defiantly, but sweating from having two wands pointed at his head.

“Trust me Draco; I think you’ll find a lot of people very unsympathetic to the sons of Death Eaters.” I think you’re going to be surprised where some of my support comes from this year, and at how little support _you_ will have. And that’s exactly the situation you’re facing, the son of a Death Eater, against, _The boy who lived_. Now I did _this_ so that I have your undivided attention.” Harry said pointed at an unconscious Crab, and Golye. “I meant what I said. I don’t want any trouble from you this year. If you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone. I’m not looking for a fight, and I’m not looking to hurt anyone. But I swear, if you push me, I’m going to push back.” Harry said. “Now, I’m going to deny any of this ever took place. And I’m going to pretend that you and I never met. I suggest that you do the same. Do you understand?” Harry finished.

Draco gave Harry a dirty look, but took a minute to take in what he had said. “You may be big man on campus now Potter, but I remember last year when you didn’t have such a fan base. I’ll get even with you in time. And I’ll catch you in the act sooner or later, with more witnesses. Sooner or later you’re going to screw-up and, _Boy Who Lived_ or not, I’ll remember this moment. I’ll let you go for now, but only because I want my father to see you get expelled from this school. And _he_ will be out again soon Potter.

“Ha! Your father is a Death Eater, and soon he’ll be in Azkaban with the rest of Voldermort’s lackeys. Just as soon as…” Harry was cut off by Draco.

“My father was under the imperious curse. He was arrested after Dumbledore filled the Minister of Magic with lies. There are hoards of people clamoring for my father to be released. They all are well aware of my father’s most charitable contributions to noble _and popular_ causes in the wizarding world. He and I have a lot of support still left in the right places.” Draco looked Potter over. _“Boy Who Lived.”_ He said with a sneer. “You know I’m going to dance on your grave after the Dark Lord gets done with you! Has your scar been hurting?” Harry enraged pressed the two wands harder against Malfoy’s profusely sweating head.

“You’re very confident for someone with two wands pointed at their head Malfoy. I know your also working for the Dark Lord too. Like father like…”

“ **What’s going on here?”** An angry looking dark haired, dark skinned boy shouted, wand held at the ready, in his hand. It was Ernie Mac Millan, a sixth year Hufflepuff. Harry noticed the boy who had been in the hall earlier was with him.

“Oh…nothing. Malfoy and I were just having a little chat.” Harry said indifferently.

“Really? That’s not what I hear Potter. Chapman here tells me you came in and attacked Draco, and his friends here.” He said pointing to Crab and Golye, who were just getting up from there stupor.

“Well…uh, why are you concerned?” Harry asked trying to think of a way out of the spot he was in.

“I’m the sixth year prefect for Hufflepuff. And you’re in a lot of trouble Potter.” He said with a stone face.

“Since you know me, and you seem know Draco, then you must know that his father, as well as Crab, and Golye’s, are all Death Eaters! Draco and his wankers are also likely working for the Dark Lord.” Harry said in a serious tone. I’m just giving them a warning to keep out of mischief.” Harry finished. Mac Millan didn’t look impressed.

“Look Potter, this is the United Kingdom, and here a person is innocent until proven guilty, and we don’t have guilt by association. Now take your wands away from Malfoy’s head. I’m going to take thirty points from your house for this, and I’m very disappointed in you, someone with such a prestigious reputation. I hope that you will learn from this that you can’t just go around starting trouble when it pleases you.” He said with a grim face.

“Oh come on, Malfoy harasses me every year on this trip. I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine. Why don’t you give me a break Mac Millan?” Harry complained.

“ _If,_ I had seen Malfoy harass you, I would be taking points from his house. Look Potter, I am giving you a break. I could recommend detention, but seeing as how you acted with such courage at the Ministry last year, well, I think Malfoy and I can over look this.” Mac Millan said.

“Speak for yourself Mac Millan, now that I know I have witnesses, I’m going to have potter expelled.” Draco said with a wide smile across his face.

“Don’t be silly Malfoy, who’s going to expel _The Harry Potter_? Look he acted a bit rash, but considering that he saved the entire wizarding world, I think we can drop this here with an apology. Harry it would be best if you apologized to Malfoy, and his mates, so we can all put this behind us.” Mac Millan said in an authoritive tone. Harry hesitated, he had just lost his house thirty points, and now he had to apologize to Malfoy? His rash judgment had cost him. Harry only wanted to get Malfoy to lay off him for the year, but he had gone about it the wrong way. Malfoy leered at him.

“That’s right Potter, beg my forgiveness so we can all put this behind us. And you can grovel on you’re…”

“ **There’s no need for that Malfoy!** A simple I’m sorry, and it will not happen again will suffice.” Mac Millan shot at Malfoy. Malfoy gave Mac Millan a dirty look, but said nothing. Harry looked at Malfoy and his friends and gave a begrudging apology to them, as they smirked at his capitulation. “Oh and Potter…give Malfoy back his wand.” Mac Millan said. Harry begrudgingly handed back the wand to Malfoy as Malfoy sneered at him.

“Look guys I need to talk to Potter alone if you don’t mind. Come on Potter we need to talk.” Mac Millan said, and they moved to the hall of the next carriage. When Mac Millan saw that their was no one else left in the hall, he again spoke. “Look Potter, I know there is a lot of bad blood between you and Malfoy, but whatever he says to you, just ignore him, his father is in jail, and he’s going through a tough time right now. Now I know that he’s going to taunt you this year, like he does every year, if that happens you can come to me and I’ll take care of it, but you can’t go around picking fights, just because you feel like it. Do you understand me?” Mac Millan asked.

Harry looked at him appreciatively, and nodded. “Yea, I…thanks Mac Millan. I just thought I’d make it clear to him that I don’t want any trouble this year. I just want to have a good year.” Harry said.

“Well Harry, I don’t think that blasting people with wands is any way of conveying to them that you don’t want trouble.” Mac Millan finished.

Harry smiled. “Yea, I guess your right. Sorry.”

“Just take it easy Potter. You’ll have a good school year yet.” Mac Millan said. The two of them shook hands and went there separate ways.

Harry headed back to his carriage in the back of the train. “How stupid!” he chastised himself. A brief moment of satisfaction had cost Gryffindor thirty points and the train was not even to school yet. Harry solemnly vowed to himself not to act so rash again. Ernie Mac Millan was right. It was he who went looking for a fight. He couldn’t make the excuse of Malfoy giving him a hard time because; Harry hadn’t given him a chance to. Furthermore Mac Millan was also right about just ignoring Malfoy and his friends, as clearly Harry was in a better position socially than any of them. The children of Death Eaters were not going to be to popular this year. Harry knew he should have realized that Malfoy and his mates were going to have too many of their own problems to deal with him this year. No…this time Harry had been in the wrong, he thought to himself. “I had sought out Malfoy with every **intention ** of causing a row. Of coarse Harry wouldn’t have hurt him anymore than giving him a minor jinx, like a slug curse, but still he shouldn’t have gone looking for trouble. “Why did I do that?” He asked himself as he continued to walk through the carriages. “Because he’s been at me since I first started school. Because his father is a Death Eater. Because he’s also probably working for Voldermort, and will probably act as a spy for him while he’s at Hogwarts. But Ernie Mac Millan was right. Harry had no proof of their intentions, and with out proof nothing else mattered.

Harry entered the carriage to find a very impatient Ron and Hermione waiting with Neville, Ginny, and Gloria.

“ **Where have _you_ been?”** Hermione shouted. “We’ve been waiting here for an hour. Were prefects, and we have duties to attend to you know. But you asked us to wait, and we have. I didn’t know you were going to be so long.” she finished. Harry put his head down, and avoided their gaze.

“I uh…Well I met with Malfoy and his gang…and lost thirty points for Gryffindor, sorry.” Harry said ashamed. Ron was furious and started.

“ **What that arse!** He can’t just go around taking points from people because it pleases him. I’ll complain to Dumbledore. Malfoy will be sorry he ever…”

“Uh actually Ron, it was Ernie Mac Millan that took the points from me, and I…it was actually my fault. I went looking for Malfoy, zapped Crab and Golye with stupefy, took Malfoy’s wand from him, and threatened him. Harry stated even more ashamed. Hermione put her hands over her mouth.

“But why Harry!” she asked. Harry looked at Hermione with a grim face.

“I…just wanted him to leave me alone this year. I just wanted him to back off me for once. I wasn’t really going to hurt him; I just wanted to make it clear that I wasn’t going to put up with his crap this year. Anyway someone saw me attack them and told Mac Millan. He caught me in the act of threatening Malfoy, so he took ten points off for that, and ten for zapping Crab and Golye with stupefy. Look, I really am sorry guys, I was a dick. I went looking for trouble, and it cost Gryffindor thirty points. I promise it will not happen again, and I’ll get the points back.” Harry finished feeling really bummed out. Everyone was silent for a moment as they took in what Harry was telling them. It was Gloria Kingston that suddenly broke the silence with a thundering condemnation of Harry.

“You should be ashamed of yourself Harry Potter! Attacking poor Malfoy, and his friends like that. And after his fathers been falsely imprisoned for being a Death Eater. We Slytherins may not usually associate with anyone other than the people in our house, but at least we don’t go around blasting our wands at people whenever it pleases us. You know I actually do associate with Muggle borne people, and try to convince my fellow House mates that your _not all_ that bad, but then someone like _you_ comes along, and starts making all muggle-bornes look bad in their eyes.” Gloria said in a fit of rage.

“Look, I said I’m sorry. It was a mistake, and I won’t go looking for trouble again. But Malfoy’s dad is a Death Eater, and I think Malfoy is a spy for You-Know-Who as well. Malfoy’s dad only contributed to all those charities to make himself look good. If he gets let out by claiming the imperious curse again, then it will be a great miscarriage of justice.” Harry complained. Gloria just gave Harry a “Humph!” and a dirty look, and then turned away to ignore him. Hermione was also displeased.

“Harry, I’m very disappointed in you. You should have a little more sympathy for Malfoy with his Dad being in jail. I don’t like him much either, but there’s no excuse to just pull wands on him. But I’m glad you learned your lesson, although I’m sorry it cost our house thirty points.” Hermione lectured him.

“Well we have to go to our duties now Harry. Don’t worry; we’ll have some fun with Malfoy and his lot with the goodies that Fred and George gave us. Ron smiled.

“Ron! Don’t encourage in bad behavior. You’re a prefect for crying out loud. You’re supposed to be an example to others. And we don’t need any more points taken off.” Hermione said. Sudden she felt the train start to slow. “Oh, were getting close to Hogwarts. Okay Harry, Neville, Ginny, Gloria; See you all in the great hall. Harry sat down exhausted from the stress of what had happened, and repeated his vow to himself to not look for trouble anymore. He was going to be a lot more civil from now on. And he wasn’t going to let Malfoy get to him this year, he thought as the train pulled to a stop.

**_Authors note:_** “Don’t worry. I’m not trying to make Harry into an ass. I promise. I know it may look like that, but I’m a big HP fan. See you next chapter.” :D

* * *

 


	12. Chapter 12: Addressing the Students

  


**Chapter 12: Addressing the students.**

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville said goodbye to Ginny as she went down to the rear of the Hogwart’s train platform to ride to the school with some friends of hers in the same year as she was. Gloria Kingston had stormed out of their compartment as soon as she had collected her broom, and steamer trunk, glad to be away from Harry and his fellow Gryffindors. Harry looked on as the coaches arrived to carry the students to the castle that was their school. Suddenly a small boy near Harry let out a horrifying shout and started pointing to the carriages and screaming that they were being pulled by monsters. Harry went over to him, bent down and put a hand on his shoulder. “Those are not monsters. Their Thestrals. They pull the coaches every year, but you can only see them if you’ve seen someone die. Didn’t you learn about them in care of magical creatures last year?” Harry asked.

“No! This is my first year at Hogwarts. I didn’t know about them.” The little boy said, a little more calm, but still apprehensive.

“Well who did you see die?” Harry asked. The boy looked up at him. I saw a man crossing the street get hit by a bus last year.”

“That will do it. Well don’t worry about the Thestrals. Their very amazing creatures. You might learn about them in care of Magical Creatures class. Suddenly Harry and his friends heard a familiar voice yell “First years this way!” And Harry excused himself from the boy to greet a missed friend.

“ **Hagrid!”** “The trio yelled in unison. The gentle half giant smiled at them with a big toothy grin.

“Harry, Ron, Hermione, How are ya all.” Hagrid stated joyful, as the three of them gave him a group hug.

“Okay. How have you been? What have you been doing?” Harry asked. Hagrid leaned in low, and whispered.

“I’ve been doing secret stuff fer you-know-what, so we can defeat You-Know-Who, before he does you-know-what to the magic world. But we’ll have to talk about that later. I want the three of you to have tea with me your next Saturday. We’ll have some things to discuss. Hagrid raised a bandaged finger to his lips to let Harry and company know that he could not say anything more. Harry noticed that in fact both of Hagrid’s hands were bandaged up.

“Hagrid what happened to your hands? Were you hurt on a mission for the You-Know-What?” Harry inquired. Hagrid held up his hands to look at it.

“Oh that, no. Just a bit of frostbite. Madam Pomfrey will fix it up soon enough. I just haven’t had time to go to ‘er about it yet. But she’s got some potion that will fix it right up, keeps it on hand for me for whenever I come in with it.” Hagrid said.

“Madam Pomfrey keeps an anti-frost bite potion on hand for when you come in? How often could you come in with frostbite?” Ron inquired.

“Oh a lot lately. I’ll explain later. But if you’ll all excuse me, I’ve got ta get these first years across the lake.” Hagrid finished, and excused himself to take care of the first year students.

On the trip to the castle Ron and Hermione explained what had happened in the prefect carriage to Harry in great detail. He could hardly believe his ears, but took in every word of it. He listened intently to their story, in silence. After awhile Harry finally spoke.

“I can’t believe it! Marietta Edgencombe? Head Girl? How?” Harry asked not believing his ears.

“I told you, she became a prefect at the start of the summer last year, before they chose Head Girl. Apparently the female, Ravenclaw prefect in her year wasn’t returning to school this year for some reason. I don’t exactly know why she was chosen as Head Girl, but being a prefect before the selection certainly qualified her to be in the running. I didn’t talk to her, just walked into the prefect carriage, and saw that the jinx had been removed from her face, and she was wearing the Head Girl badge. Ron and I were in to much shock to say anything, and when she saw me, she just gave me a look of deep hatred and stormed off. I asked Bill Hailey, the male, seventh year Ravenclaw prefect what the deal was, and he informed me what had happened. Oh! Also Allen Miller is the Head Boy. He’s in Slytheren.\\\\\\\\\\\" she finished.

      Harry reflected on this new dilemma. _Great_ , he thought. Malfoy was a prefect, and now another Slytheren was Head boy, and the girl who had betrayed his DA classes last year was Head Girl. Why would Dumbledore let people like this ever get positions of such authority in the student body? Was it a plot to make his life miserable?

“Well…I’m sure that Marietta won’t be a problem. She’s just a stupid git who’s probably going to stay far away from us, and will likely be afraid that if she comes close to us that Hermione will give her another jinx. But Malfoy and Miller are another problem. Surly they will be looking for an excuse to deduct as many points as possible from us. Oh! Who chooses Head Girl and Head Boy anyway guys?” Harry reflected. Ron just shrugged his shoulders at the question. But Hermione was as usual, ready with an answer.

“Well Harry. According to Hogwarts: A History, Head Boy and Head Girl are chosen by the Masters of the school, based on several criteria. The criteria are Good conduct, extra curricular activities, extra credit, recommendations submitted by staff, points won for their house and most important of course, the student’s marks. The staff’s recommendations are submitted to the Head Master, and he makes the final decision.”

“Hogwarts: A History has a section on how the staff decides Head Boy and Head Girl?” Ron asked surprised.

“Of course. Really Ron you two should try reading the book some day. I’m writing my own book about it to give credit to the house elves that are so neglected in it. But aside from it’s biased to magical creatures, Hogwarts: A History is very informative.” Hermione finished happily.

“You’re writing a book? An actual book that you intend to put into print? Harry asked impressed.

“Well, yea. I’m just doing some ruff drafts for now, but over the Christmas Holliday, and next summer I plan to finish it and talk to a publisher.”

“Wow. That’s really impressive Hermione. Is that what you’re going to do after school…become a writer?” Ron asked. Hermione seemed pleased by Ron’s interest.

“No. That’s just something on the side. I plan to take the S.P.E.W. out of Hogwarts and into the mainstream, magic world. People need to know about the plight of House Elves, and other magical creatures. That’s going to be my main job.” Hermione said.

Harry and his mates sat in the great hall awaiting the speech from the Head Master, Dumbledore, who had not yet arrived. The sorting hat, ceremony had already been completed, and everyone was chatting about the new members of each table. The staff was also chatting amongst themselves, and Harry noticed a couple of new teachers amongst them, as well as the two divinization teachers, Professor Trelawney, who co shared the Divinization class with Professor Firenze, a centaur. One of the new teachers was a man who looked to be in his fifties, who was wearing a lime green wizard robe with hood, and yellow crescent moon designs printed on it, wearing large glasses, and a wide smile, who was chatting it up with professor Sprout, who seemed very interested in, and very confused by what the man was saying. Another new face belonged to a serious looking woman who looked to be in her seventies, wearing a black robe, and green velvet witches hat, and oval glasses. She had a stone faced look not displaying any emotion, and Harry thought he saw her look at him a few times.

The door behind the staff opened and Professor Dumbledore stepped out. Harry was not glad to see him. Dumbledore had kept him in the dark about everything that was going on around him, and it had driven Harry mad to not have any news about what was going on in the order. He had also managed to again convince Ron’s parents, and the other order members to keep vital information from him. Harry was tired of being left in the dark, and he wanted answers. Dumbledore owed him answers. Harry wasn’t going to be rash, or full of rage, like on the train, when he would try to get Dumbledore to speak with him in private, but he was going to make it clear to him that he was owed an explanation, and he didn’t appreciate Dumbledore keeping things from him. The conversations of the students stopped as Dumbledore, came up to the podium to speak.

“My dear students. Welcome to another glorious year at Hogwarts School, and welcome to our new students this year. I’m sure your going to enjoy your first year with us. I would like to just say what a wondrous privilege it is to have such a wonderful rewarding job, as I do. There is nothing more satisfying to me than being able to mold young minds, and help the young people of today set their sights on the bright futures that lay ahead. I know that since last year their has been some bad news about You-Know-Who returning, supported by his Death Eaters. But I can tell you happily that most of the Death Eaters were captured at the Battle of the Ministry, thanks, in no small part to some of your fellow students. Most notably, Mr. Neville Longbottom… stand up Mr. Longbottom” Dumbledore paused to allow the cheering of the students to die down, as everyone clapped and cheered at his name being called, as Neville, embarrassed bowed his head to everyone. “Also present were Mr. Ron Weasley…” Dumbledore continued. Ron stood up, and looked at everyone equally embarrassed at the applause, and his face turned crimson red when Luna Lovegood and Padma Patel both blew him kisses from the Ravenclaw table. “Miss Hermione Granger…” Hermione stood up and curtsied to the crowd, and several cheers, shouts and whistles, came from all the tables, mostly from the boys. “Miss Luna Lovegood…come on now Miss Lovegood, don’t be shy.” Luna stood up hesitantly, and smiled at everyone, and Harry noticed Cho Chang give her a congratulatory hug. Didn’t I see Cho on the train? Harry thought to himself. He couldn’t remember exactly. “And last, but certainly not least…Mr. Harry Potter.” Dumbledore finished. The crowd went wild with a huge roar from almost all the students, except for a few people at the Slytheren and Ravenclaw tables. But he noticed that Cho Chang was clapping for him very enthusiastically, but not making direct eye contact with him. A tear looked like it was forming in the corner of her eye. Harry started to remember that he had yelled at her on the train, because she had brought her friend Marietta Edgencombe to his DA classes, and Marietta had betrayed the DA, and almost gotten him expelled. Why did he do that he wondered? He had done that last year to Cho when she had tried to apologize to him for Marietta, and also yelled at Ron and Hermione when they had tried to apologize to him for other things when he arrived at Grimald Place. Harry was getting several pats on the back and the cheering lasted for a while. Oh well, I’ll apologize to Cho later for the whole thing on the train. I’m over it now. I just wish I could remember _why_ I was suddenly so mad at her.

When the cheering finally died down Professor Dumbledore continued. “Although the You-Know-Who has lost a lot of his minions, he is still out there, and I hope that the third years and above will take great caution when visiting Hogsmead this year. The Ministry has a few Auras stationed there, and we don’t expect him to be there, but it would be better if everyone kept on alert. _Constant vigilance_ as my friend Alastor Moody would say. I would also like to say that we have a few additions to our staff this year, and we are honored to welcome them, and I know that they will be a great asset to our school. First is Professor Mike Jittlov from Hollywood, in the United States, who will be in charge of the Special Effects magic class. He has shown me some of his work, and I will allow a few field trips to Hogwarts for the students not in his class to view it, as I’m afraid that his electronic equipment will not work here at the castle. But believe me your going to be impressed. Professor Jittlov, would you like to say a few words to the students who will be attending your class?” Dumbledore finished. The man in the lime green wizard robe with the hood stood up and gave a bow. Professor Jittlov smiled even wider, and adjusted his green rimed glasses.

“I would just like to say that I think were going to have a lot of fun in my class, and were going to learn a lot about muggle magic, and putting it all on film. I look forward to having many of you in my class this year.” Professor Jittlov said in a pleasant voice. He than sat back down, as the rims of his glassed flashed neon green. Dumbledore than turned to the old witch with the green velvet robe. And also I would like to introduce Professor Timina Penfield, who will be teaching Potions class this year.” Dumbledore stated and invited her to give a short speech of her own. A felling of great dread came over Harry as he looked over at Professor Snape who was listening to Professor Penfield talk about what an honor it was to be at Hogwarts, and how she had given up her job in the ministry of Magic to become a teacher. Ron leaned over to Harry and asked him a question.

“Hey Harry, who do ya thinks teaching Defense Against Dark Arts this year?” Harry didn’t take his eyes off Snape.

“I’ve got a bad feeling that with our luck it’ll be Snape.” Ron nodded his head. Yea that would be our luck.” He admitted. Dumbledore shook Professor Penfield’s hand as she left the podium and thanked her for the speech. Suddenly his face became grim and his voice became very serious.

“And now I need to bring to everyone’s attention some very tragic news. I’m sure many of you have heard that one of our students will not be returning to Hogwarts this year. Iris Foxmead, who was a Hufflepuff prefect, was tragically killed over the summer out side her home in Dover, in a vampire attack. Miss Foxmead was a very hard working, very intelligent young girl, who showed a lot of promise before her tragic, untimely death. She was respected by students and masters alike, and we shall all greatly miss her. Let us all bow our heads, and have a moment of silence for her memory.” Dumbledore finished. After a brief silence Dumbledore reminded the students who were interested in Charms Club, that Professor Flitwick would be having the first meeting, and sign up on Saturday at eleven PM sharp. He than gave the ever famous warning that the Dark Forest outside the school was off limits to students.

“Oh! One more thing, Mr. Filch asks me to remind students that his office is off limits to anyone who does not wish to die a most horrible death.” Dumbledore stated. “Well, all the news finished. Again welcome back to Hogwarts, and now let the feast begin.” He finished.

The tables filled up with large helpings of multiple varieties of food, and drink. And as Harry took the first bite of his steak, and kidney pudding he happened to catch Cho looking at him. When she realized he had seen her, she quickly glanced away and started talking to a curly brown haired girl next to her. Did she still have feelings for him? Did he have any feelings left for her? Well maybe if she wouldn’t cry all the time. No he thought, Cho Chang, did not support him in the end last year. She chose her friend instead. Besides he thought… Cho was bits of an emotional wreak, and who wants sobbing wet kisses when he had girls clamoring for him. Harry turned his attention to the Slytheren table and eventually spied Fiona, sitting near the end closet to the exit. _I wonder what she’s doing for the first Hogsmead, weekend_ he thought.

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	13. Chapter 13: Summer VIsitors

 

  Vodkaholic! Thank you so much for your reviews. I'm very greatful. So nice of you to adress everyone. I'm glad that you like the part of the story from Cho's perspective. It really teaches how different people interprate things, and I use that 

Misinterpretation 

 as a theme in my story. Cho is a good person, but always sad and thinking the worst possible conclusion for herself. Also she is very fragile. A big heart of glass. Are you Russian by the way? 

 

**Chapter 13: Summer Visitors**

Harry was half way through his meal when a dark skinned, black haired, Hufflepuff boy came up to him. “Hey Potter, is it true that your team Captain for Gryffindor this year?” Harry nodded his head, and smiled as he swallowed a mouthful of steak. The boy smiled back and extended his hand to Harry. “I’m Emit Walsh, the new Hufflepuff team Captain. I was wondering if I could talk you into a practice match on Friday afternoon. Just so our respective teams can get some good training in. This will be my first year as team Captain too.” Emit said with a genuine smile. Harry motioned him to have a seat.

“I think that that would be great Walsh. I didn’t get to play last year, and Quidditch was the thing I was looking forward to the most. I think a friendly game would be great! Just let me know what time you want to reserve the field for and, I’ll have my team there.” Harry smiled. Walsh looked pleased.

“Perfect Harry, I think I’ll try to get it set for around five thirty on Friday. We probably won’t have too much homework thrown on us the first week. So I think that everyone will be steady fresh for a practice game. But take it easy on us, as this will be the first year of playing Quidditch for four members of my team. Most of our team last year were seventh years, and it’s left me without a lot of experienced players.” Walsh said concerned about the less experienced members of his team. Harry patted him on the back.

“No problem Walsh. It’s only a practice game, and I’m really into Quidditch for the love of the game. I’m sure well all have fun on Friday. And congratulations on getting team Captain.” Harry said in a friendly manner. He and Walsh talked for a while, about last years events, and Walsh would look over Harry’s shoulder every once in a while. The conversation eventually drifted to the politics of the wizarding world, and the new Minister of Magic’s, view of Muggleborn, and half blood persons. Walsh entered his own opinion.

“Yea, his views are a little extreme. Not anything close to You-Know-Who’s views of course. Not that we have to worry about him after he had to deal with you though. More likely he’s off licking his wounds, after losing almost all his Death Eaters, alone and afraid of _The Harry Potter_. Harry waved off the complements.

“Oh thanks, but it wasn’t just me. I had help from friends.” Harry said.

“But I think you half bloods are an Okay lot. Not that I’m not proud to be a pureblood. Believe me; I’m proud that I can trace my magical lineage all the way back to the great Hausa Wizards of Nigeria. But that’s not the only thing that’s important, and I have some good Muggleborn, and half blood friends. Hell, half my team is made up of people with some Muggle lineage. But I don’t think that anything will change, with the new Minister. Truth is, he’s probably just saying that stuff because he’s trying to appeal to the pureblood separatist community. Seems that their population has been growing over the years. Not specifically in the UK, but around the world in general. I even heard that in Germany some groups are giving out medals to the pureblood women who have eight or more children. Can you believe it? Medals for shagging.” Walsh said as if it were the silliest thing he had ever heard of. Harry remembered something about women having baby’s of pureblood somewhere in Muggle history, from when he attended Muggle School at age ten, but he couldn’t quite remember what he had learned about it. Then Walsh asked Harry a question that seemed to come out of the blue. “Hey Potter, do you have a pet mouse in your pocket?” He asked sincerely.

“Uh…no. Why do you ask?” Harry said. Walsh looked past Harry again.

“Well it’s just that Filches cat, Mrs. Norris has been watching you for the past fifteen minutes now. I thought it was either you had a pet mouse you were keeping in your pocket, or Mr. Norris was taking a keen interest in politics these days.” Walsh chuckled. Harry turned to see Mrs. Norris glaring at him with sinister, yellow eyes. Harry was agitated. “Shoo, go way. Were not breaking any rules. Beat it you useless fur ball.” Harry said. Mrs. Norris then casually strolled away after the two of them fell silent. Harry then turned back to Walsh. “I hate that cat. Always spying for Filch. It’s like the two of them have a mental connection, where they can read each others thoughts. Walsh nodded his head in agreement.

“Yea, tell me about it. One time in my third year, some friends and I were sneaking out of our house to go meet up with a few girls from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and Mrs. Norris Spotted us. She never went back to Filch, but stayed with us leering at us with those sinister yellow eyes the whole time. We tried to shoo her away, but had to be quite about it. Eventually we heard Filch moving around and ducked into a class room, and hid under desk, and in cupboards, and one guy even went back to the hall to hide behind one of the suites of armor in the halls. Well Mrs. Norris went to Filch, and showed him where each of us were hiding. Got four detentions each that day. Filch kept going on, and on about how he longed for the days when students were tied up and beaten for such infractions. God I don’t remember mum or dad saying anything about torcher when they talk about their time at Hogwarts. How old is Filch.” Walsh finished. Harry shrugged.

“Bout a hundred I’d wager.” Harry joked. Walsh looked at his watch.

“Oh bugger, I’ve got to get with my team now, and let them know about Friday. Well it’s been great chatting with you Potter. See you Friday.” He said as he shook Harry’s hand again.

“It was great to meet you Walsh. I look forward to the game.” Harry said in good sprits

Harry gave another look over at the Ravenclaw table. Cho Chang was staring at the Gryffindor table, with a worried look on her face, and was fidgeting around looking like she was trying to decide to come over to the table or not. The strange thing was that she was not looking at Him. He looked at the same place that Cho was where two people sat. Cho was staring at either Ron, or Hermione or both. The two of them were in deep conversation, and sitting close together, and so it was hard to determine which one. But it was Hermione that jinxed Cho’s friend last year. Was Cho getting ready to tell Hermione off? No. I can’t imagine she would just jump at Hermione like that. Harry’s train of thought was interrupted by a greeting from his favorite ghost at Hogwarts.

“Hello Harry. How was your summer holiday?” came the voice of Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor House. Harry turned to him.

“Sir Nicolas. It’s good to see you again. My summer was…uh…okay. Harry lied. “Um…how was yours?” Harry asked with genuine interest. Sir Nicolas gave him a look of disappointment.

“Oh you know how it is. Another year, another rejection of my request to join the headless hunt. Other than that I’ve been reading a few of books. Hard work as it takes a ghost many hours of concentration to turn a page. You know books being physical objects and all. Except for the Gray Lady. She’s been reading books for years, and never has a problem holding them. But they seem to be the only physical object that she can hold. She tried to explain to me a few times how she did it, but it was a bit to over my head. So I’m learning at my own pace. Anyway, Peeves has been giving Filch hell ever since he had his that Ravenclaw girl come into his office, in mid summer, and poltergeist and ghost proof it with a spell. Peeves was so upset that he couldn’t get into Filch’s office that he’s been wrecking the rest of the castle. I told him to calm down because even Dumbledore was getting upset with all the mischief. But ever since Filch and his brother brought that crate into his office, Peeves has been mad to see what’s in it. He actually…”

“Woah, wait! Back up a second. Filch has a brother?” Harry asked surprised. Sir Nicolas nodded his head.

“Yes, a twin brother. The Bloody Barron saw the two of them hauling something in a large wooden crate from one of the coaches to his office. That was the same day the Ravenclaw girl came and bewitched the office to not let poltergeist and ghost through. They were all in deep discussion, and were very secretive. I’ve never seen Filch so agitated, but he also seemed to be afraid of something. He’s been a nervous wreak since that crate arrived.” Sir Nicolas finished. Harry was excessively curious now, and Sir Nicolas had his undivided attention.

“Why, what’s in the crate?” He asked. Sir Nicolas gave a shrug. No idea, I told you that Peeves said that the office was made ghost and poltergeist proof. But the three of them were in there for the better part of three days, with the girl and Filche’s brother casting spells constantly throughout the night. Eire lights could be seen flickering from under the door at night. Anyway on the third day the Ravenclaw girl left, by broom, and…well we never actually saw Filche’s brother leave. But he must have. I mean…why would anyone stay in such a place for so long with nothing to do. Sir Nicholas finished.

“Well trust me I’d love to stay at Hogwart’s during the summer. Believe me, I could find things to do, with the run of an entire castle, and surrounding grounds to keep me entertained. I…” Harry was cut off by Sir Nicholas.

“Oh, no Harry. I mean he never left Filche’s office. Or at least none of us ghost ever saw him leave. And Peeves’ has stationed himself outside that door almost twenty-four hours a day since they poltergeist and ghost proofed it. Perhaps he could have left when Peeves was trashing another part of the castle out of frustration. But you’d think that one of us would have seen him leave the grounds, either by broom, or coach, or some other means. I mean there is not really a lot to do here in the summer, and it gets really boring. So anything unusual that happens is prime entertainment for us ghost. We went out of our way to pass by that office more than once, and never saw him after he went into that room. For a moment I thought that maybe he apparated, but I know that you can’t do that at Hogwarts. I guess he left while we were sleeping. Harry took in everything that Sir Nicholas had said with great fascination. He thought about it for a minute before he spoke.

“I understand that Peeves tried to get in there and found out that it was poltergeist proof, but how did he know it was ghost proof?” Harry asked. Sir Nicholas gave an embarrassed look.

“Well…I might have tried to take a peak in the office myself. Like I said not much goes on here during summers, in the way of entertainment. We all tried to peek in at one point or another. But the walls, floor, and roof of Filch’s office are just as solid to any of us, as any wall is to you.” Sir Nicholas finished. What an intriguing story, Harry thought.

“Wow, that’s a bizarre story Sir Nicholas. Did anything else happen with Filch that was weird like that?” Harry asked hanging on Sir Nicholas’s every word. Sir Nick thought for a second, and scratched his head.

“Only that Filch seemed to have odd conversations with his brother and the Ravenclaw girl. The only time that they seemed to leave the office was to eat in the great hall, or go to lavatory. They would talk in whispers and Filche’s brother seemed to be giving him orders during their meals, and not catching up on family business. They would always stop talking whenever any of us ghost would float close by. The most unusual thing was that the girl seemed to be giving him orders too. To both of them, as if she was a Professor or something.” Sir Nick said.

“Wow, did anyone overhear anything that they were saying?” Harry asked hoping that one of them were able to sneak close to Filch, and his friends. Sir Nicholas looked disappointed.

“No, the only thing that any of us ever heard was that he was worried about the effect that something would have on Mrs. Norris, and that He would tell Dumbledore that he had bought a new cat if anyone asked.” Nothing relevant to the goings on in his office, as he must have bought the new cat after his brother and the girl left.” Sir Nick finished. Harry was still trying to take in the odd tale.

“Well didn’t Dumbledore ask Filch what he was up to?” Harry said.

“No. Almost all the staff was on holiday. The only ones here were Filch, us ghost, and the house elves. In fact Dumbledore only just arrived last night.” Sin Nick finished. He looked at the grandfather clock in the great hall. “Oh Harry, would you excuse me. I have to go see the Fat Fryer about his Death-Day Party arrangements this month. I’ll see you around. Take care.” Nick floated off.

“Take care Sir Nicholas. Thanks for sharing the story with me.” Harry said grateful. Suddenly he remembered a question he had forgotten to ask. “Oh Sir Nick. Just one more question. Who was the Ravenclaw girl that filch was talking to?” Harry asked. Nick thought for a second, but after a few minutes still had a blank look on his face.

“You know Harry, I completely forgot. I’ll ask the Gray Lady later, she’ll know who it was.” He said, and floated away past several students who were starting to exit the great hall.

Harry walked up to Ron and asked if he was ready to go up to the dorms. Ron nodded and got up from the table to follow Harry. Ron then turned to Hermione, who was in a deep conversation with Katie Bell, a seventh year Gryffindor Chaser.

“Oi, Hermione, are you coming?” Ron asked.

“You go ahead; I’ll be with you guys later.” She said. Harry looked back when they got to the main door and saw Cho Chang speaking to Hermione with a worried expression still on her face. Hermione looked very surprised at whatever Cho was saying to her, but after a minute they shook hands and Cho returned to the Ravenclaw table. Hermione gave Cho a look of gratitude as she walked away.

“I’ll have to ask what all that was about later.” Said Harry.

“What?” said Ron. Harry just shrugged and gave a sigh.

“Nothing Ron…just thinking out loud.” Harry said, and then motioned for Ron to lead the way to the Gryffindor dorms.


	14. Chapter 14: Getting Luna's Back

**Chapter 14: Getting Luna’s back.**

His eyes were the color of jade, and they had a sparkle about them that glinted like diamonds. His hair had a shiny black sheen, and his soft skin a beautiful flesh-tone. She looked over every part of his face, from the scar on his head to his cute pointy nose.

“Well?” Nancy asked.

His circular glasses gave him a look of gentleness, and his smile gave her a warm feeling inside that could keep her comfortable through the coldest winter. But it wasn’t just his looks. He had always had a presents about him that had an effect like a Vela on Cho. She was never able to say the things around him that she wanted to, and never able to stop the nervous feeling of butterflies in her stomach when she was around him.

“Cho?” Nancy said a little agitated at being ignored.

What she wouldn’t give to be Hermione Granger she thought. To be beautiful to him, to look like what he wanted. To have a sense of humor like her and to be everything he liked in a girl…”

“ **CHO!”** Nancy shouted. Cho barely heard the shout that could be heard across the Ravenclaw table.

“Huh? I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked coming out of her stupor. Nancy gave a look of annoyance. “

“I asked you three times what electives you were taking this year. What are you staring at anyway?” Nancy said curious.

“Well, I…nothing…” Cho stammered. Nancy and Beverly were both sitting across from Cho and they looked over her shoulder to the Gryffindor table.

“Oh god. She’s staring at Potter. Give it up Cho, he’s not interested. And neither should you be. He’s not worth your time.” Beverly complained.

“Oh, are you still interested in Potter Cho?” Nancy asked interested. “Even after what he did to you last year?” She looked Harry over. “He’s okay for looks I guess. I think it’s cool that he’s such a superstar now, but I prefer the more solid muscular types myself. But still…if I didn’t already have a boyfriend I might give him a good shag. How about you Cho?” Nancy finished.

“ **Nancy!”** Cho shouted with a look of embarrassment on her face. Nancy gave a big toothy grin.

“Oh come on Cho. Tell me you’ve never thought about him _giving you one_. You were probably thinking about it right now.” Nancy stated. Beverly smiling, gave Nancy a nudge, and imitated Potter.

“Oi, Cho, how’s a bout a bit of a how’s your father.” Beverly joked in a deep voice.

“It’s not funny! I…I…” Cho looked as if she were about to tear up.

“Oh come on Cho, were just kidding. You’re amongst friends here. And you shouldn’t be embarrassed about your feelings for some one. But there are plenty of guys in this school that would love to go out with you. Why don’t you try going out with one of them. You’ve haven’t been out on a date since the one you had with Potter last year.” Beverly said.

“Really? I heard that she was going out with Michael Corner last year.” Nancy inquired. Beverly shook her head.

“No, Michael tried to hook up with her by trying to console her after the Quidditch game last year, but he found her to be _quite inconsolable_. But he went around saying that he shagged her anyway. The stupid bastard. Cho didn’t try to deny it because she stopped talking to everyone, but that arse Marietta until summer.” Beverly finished.

“Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures.” Cho said in monotone with her left hand propping up her face.

“What?” asked Nancy taken off guard. Cho raised her eyes to her.

“You asked me what electives I was taking this year. Muggle studies and Care of Magical Creatures.”

“Oh. Since when are you interested in those?” Nancy asked. Cho was happy at the change of subject.

“Well…we moved to England this summer, my parents and I, and have been living in London with my Uncle and cousins. He’s a squib, and is married to a Muggle. It’s been really difficult to understand some things about Muggles, and I was hoping that I could learn more about the lives of some of my friends and family.” Cho said. “Beverly I was hoping that you could help me with my homework in that class this year, please.” Cho asked. Beverly nodded her head.

“Sure Cho, no problem.

Just then, Luna walked over to tell Cho that she would be going up to the dorms now and that she would see her later.

“What about Care of Magical Creatures Class?” asked Nancy. “Why the sudden interest in that?”

“Well Luna asked me to take it with her. And I thought it would be fun.” Cho said.

“Cho signed up so I could show her the Crumple Horned Snorack that my father and I captured over the summer. It was in the latest article of the Quibbler. He loaned it to Hogwarts over the summer, but it was only just delivered last week. It’s going to be sooo cool when you guys see it.” Luna finished happily.

“Oh sweetie, Crumple Horned Snoracks don’t really exist. They are just mythology.” Nancy said as Cho and Beverly gave each other embarrassed looks.

“Sure they do. Cho and Beverly saw the picture in the article. I left it in my dorm room, but I’ll show you later.” Luna said. Nancy raised an eyebrow.

“Really guys? Did you see it?” Nancy asked surprised that Luna could produce witnesses to her outrageous claim. Beverly gave an embarrassed look.

“Well actually, the thing is that…” Beverly started.

“That we actually did see the picture, and there was a Crumple Horned Snorack in it.” Cho interrupted her quickly. “Right Beverly?” She finished. Beverly gave Cho a look of disappointment, but gave a weak “yea” to her. Nancy was genuinely surprised.

“Wow Luna, one of your outrageous claims actually turns out to be true. I’m impressed.” Nancy said. Luna looked confused. (I mean more so than usual)

“What do you mean, for once?” Luna asked.

“Oh come on Luna, I mean you know all the creatures that you make up each year, like the Nargles in the wood work, and the Flying Manatocks hiding in the rafters. You have to admit that you have a very active imagination.” Nancy said light hearted. Luna gave her a look of slight annoyance.

“I was telling the truth about the nargles, and the Manatocks. They are not part of my imagination. Cho you believe me don’t you?” Luna pleaded. Cho cringed.

“Um…yes I do Luna. I know that you believe that you saw all those things. And I…I know that your telling the truth about the Snorack.” Cho said embarrassed, but determined to get Luna’s back.

“Great!” Luna hugged Cho from behind, and thanked her. “Well I’ve got to get settled in. See everyone in the common room.” Luna said as she left with a wave. When she was out of earshot Nancy asked what a Crumple Horned Snorack actually looked like. Beverly put in quickly before Cho could try to stop her.

“Oh come on Nancy. There is no such thing. Luna just showed us a picture in the paper of her and her father pointing toward an empty space. It’s as fictional as all her other delusions. Cho just wants us to pretend that we saw something so that we don’t hurt her feelings.

“She says that it’s invisible…she…” Cho tried to make an excuse for Luna.

“Stop it Cho. You know that there is no such thing. Look, I admire the fact that you’re trying to keep her feelings from being hurt, but no other students going to say that they see a Snorack. And it’s just going to be worse for her when the class starts and she can’t produce one.” Beverly said in utter annoyance. Cho lowered her head.

“That’s why we have to get her back on this one. Because nobody else will. I don’t want her being laughed at by all those other students, with no one to support her.” Cho finished.

“Beverly’s right Cho, you’re doing more harm than good. I know that you mean well, but Luna’s always been a little out there with her, beliefs. I think it’s really bad to get her hopes up.” Nancy said. Cho gave her a pleading look.

“Please, if she shows you the picture, tell her that you see the Snorack. She just needs people to believe in her.”

“I’m sorry Cho, I just can’t support lunacy. Look, I kind of like Luna, she’s never done anything to me, and I feel bad for her. But she’s a bit unstable. I won’t say that I see something that I don’t. I’m sorry.” Nancy said sternly.

“I agree with Nancy. I’ll tell Luna that I see the Snorack, but I don’t want to look silly in front of my friends. I’m not telling anyone else I see it. You shouldn’t either. I mean you’re not going to look very good, supporting such fanciful claims of a girl with such a repetition. I hope you understand Cho.” Beverly finished apologetically. Cho was severely disappointed. Her eyes lowered, as she spoke.

“Well…I am going to say I see it, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks of me. Luna’s going to need someone to believe in her.” Cho finished. As the conversation turned to other things Cho started staring over at the Gryffindor table at Harry. Why couldn’t she get her mind off of him. She didn’t know how long she had been staring at him before she realized that he was making eye contact with her. Excessively embarrassed Cho turned to Beverly hoping that Harry thought that she just happened to glance his way, and that she wasn’t staring at him with a longing look in her eyes. What am I doing Cho thought. He hates me. He yelled at me on the train. That was less than two hours ago. But I haven’t stopped thinking about him all summer.

He’s got a girlfriend. A girlfriend? Oh god what about Marietta. I have to warn Miss Granger about her. Cho looked over the Gryffindor table until she saw Miss Granger talking to a red headed boy towards the end of the table closest to the Masters table. Cho started to walk to the Gryffindor table, but turned around in mid stride. No! She thought to herself. It’s none of my business. That’s between her and Marietta. I don’t owe her any favors. She’s the girl that Harry cheated on me with last year. Let her and Marietta settle their own matters. After all she really hurt Marietta with that jinx. It was still a mean thing to do to _anyone_. Maybe if she hadn’t jinxed it, than Marietta wouldn’t have become so hateful. No…all the jinx did was bring out how Marietta felt about a lot of things. We all signed the parchment, and nothing would have happened to anyone who didn’t betray Harry. But didn’t I betray him by bringing her to the meeting? I knew that she hated him. I knew that she hated all non purebloods. But I thought I could change her. Am I just as guilty in having brought her there? No…I would never have betrayed Harry, but it’s still all my fault that he got in trouble. Marietta is a bad person, who went out of her way to hurt people. And if she had not ratted out the DA nothing would have happened to her. I may not like Miss Granger, but I owe it to her to warn her about Marietta. Maybe I should just leave her an anonymous note, or send her an Owl. Cho thought. No. Everything that happened last year was my fault. I owe it to Miss Granger to warn her in person. Cho noticed that Harry was heading toward the exit of the great hall, and that Miss Granger was still in conversation with another student at the Gryffindor table. The great hall was emptying out fast, and the only person in earshot was the other girl she was talking to. It was now or never. Marietta had threatened to use the Cruico curse against this girl, and even if she wasn’t serious about that, she was still planning something nasty. Whatever it was Cho knew that she didn’t wish it on anyone. She slowly approached the Gryffindor table. Hermione Granger had her back to her.

“Mmm…Miss Granger?” Cho choked out. Hermione turned to see who was addressing her, and a look of sincere surprise came over her face when she realized it was Cho. “May I have a word with you in private please?” Cho asked politely. Hermione turned back to the girl she was talking to.

“Katie can I get bake with you on that later?” Katie Bell nodded her head and waved goodbye as she headed for the exit. Hermione than turned back to Cho, with a look of genuine confusion.

“Cho Chang…how…how can I help you?” Hermione asked. Cho had a worried look on her face that made Hermione think that Cho might be expecting to be jinxed for talking to her.

“Well I…Marietta Edgencombe she…she told me this summer that she was going to…to put the cruico curse on…on you this year. And I wanted to warn you to be careful around her.” Cho stammered. Hermione gave a bewildered look.

“I don’t understand Cho. Are you making a threat against me to lay off your friend?”

“Oh…no. She and I…we don’t talk anymore. And I know that she didn’t really mean it. I mean I know that she knows that the cruico curse is one of the unforgivable curses. But…I think that she will try something nasty on you to…get revenge for what you did to her last year. I just wanted you to be on guard. So that she wouldn’t succeed in whatever she was planning. I didn’t want you to get hurt. And I felt I owed it to you to…to let you know about her threats.” Cho finished still with a worried look on her face. Hermione was surprised by Cho’s act. She would have thought that Cho wanted a little payback for her friend too. She was at a bit of a loss for what to say.

“Um…thanks Cho. I…I’m very grateful you are thoughtful enough to warn me. Um, so your not friends with her anymore?” Hermione finished. Cho shook her head. Cho’s look told Hermione that this wasn’t easy for her. Marietta and Cho had still been friends when the jinx came on Marietta’s face, and even though warning Hermione was the right thing to do, it certainly couldn’t have been an easy thing to do, going against a former friend to help some one that you didn’t really know. “Well I’m really grateful that you let me know. I’ll keep an eye out for her. Hermione extended her hand to Cho in a gester of good will. Cho hesitated, but offered her hand as well.

“Um…well I have to go Miss Granger. To get settled in. Please excuse me.” Cho turned to leave the great hall seeing Beverly and Nancy still at work on their pudding. When she was just a few feet away Hermione called to her.

“Hey Cho! Um, some girls from my house and I are having a study session in the courtyard tomorrow at four thirty. Would you like to come?” Hermione asked shyly. Oh no! Cho thought. She wasn’t trying to make friends with Harry’s girlfriend. She only intended to keep harm from coming to her. It would be really awkward for her, and she didn’t know if she even liked her or not. She tried to think up an excuse.

“I…well the thing is that…I have to take um. I have to do some work for my head of house at that time. Review some papers. I’m sorry.” Cho said apologetically. Hermione looked disappointed, but waved it off.

“Oh. Well maybe some other time.” Hermione said disappointed. Cho nodded with a smile, and headed off toward the North Tower before Hermione could think of another time.

Cho reached a painting of a couple in a loving embrace. The woman was dressed in a white Victorian Error dress, with a purple parasol hanging off her arm, and the Man in a crimson soldier’s uniform with white straps and a white pith helmet. The two of them were set against a South African planes background. They stopped there snogging when they heard Cho walk up.

“Oh, um excuse us. Err password please?” The man said embarrassed.

“Einstein.” Cho said in monotone, and the portrait opened. Cho crossed the common room in which a few students had already started to gather toward the stairs.

The Ravenclaw common room was adorned with paintings of the most intellectually astute wizards, and witches of the past.The walls were painted in the house color of blue, with silver and bronze stripes. And in the middle of the fireplace mantel sat two empty spaces, one on which was to sat the Quidditch Cup, and the other, the House Cup. Since Cho had been going to school neither had graced the Ravenclaw room with their presence, and Cho feared she would not see it happen this year. But then again, she wasn’t seeker this year, so Ravenclaw might just have a chance, since she wouldn’t be on the team to screw things up.

Cho made her way to the left stair chamber and climbed the stairs to her dormitory to find Marietta, Danielle waiting for her at the entrance to her room, arms crossed, mischievous smiles on their faces, and a familiar looking steamer trunk at their feet. Pollyanna Millsworth a sixth year, stood in the background putting her things in Cho’s dresser drawer.

“What’s going on here?” Cho said suspiciously.

“Simple, dear Cho. I arranged to have the sleeping arrangements changed. Now Danielle and I don’t have to share a room with someone who befouls herself with mudblood filth all the time. From now on this is going to be a room of _absolute purity_. You’re new room is with that filth Beverly Jones, and, Nancy Cromwell can bloody well join you when she gets here.” Marietta said tossing her hair with a tone of disgust. Cho was livid.

“You have no authority to change sleeping quarters. Head Girl doesn’t carry that type of authority.” Cho shot.

“Did I say anything about changing them myself? I said I had arranged to have them changed. I told professor Flitwick that the two of us had irreconcilable differences, and that we both agreed that the best way to resolve it was for one of us to change rooms. I told him that you had agreed to it as well, knowing that you would. Once I got a form with his okay, I arranged to have that other mudblood, Cromwell out of here too. You two will now be in the fifth room down the hall well away from me. Pollyanna Millsworth and Caoimhe Duffy will be taking the place of you two.” Marietta said with a cheery smile. “Hear! I took the liberty of packing your shit up for you.” Marietta gave the steamer trunk that was next to her a swift kick, sliding it over to Cho. Cho gave her a look of disgust.

“You know Marietta, your right. I wouldn’t want to spend another second in the same room with a racist bigot like you. I’m glad to be out of this rat hole of a room that you two rats have infested.” Cho said. Danielle and Marietta, reached for their wands at the insult, but Cho had brought hers up to Marietta’s neck first. Marietta didn’t flinch.

“Be careful Chang. Beverly isn’t here to help you right now, and attacking us will lose you points for our house when we tell Flitwick about how you attacked us.” Cho gave the two girls a look of deep hatred.

“You pulled wands on me first. And if you keep talking about my friends it won’t matter. I’ll blast the two of you with a jinx on general principal.” Cho shot. Marietta and Daniel stared at Cho with deep hatred, but put their wands away. Cho did the same and started off down the hallway.

“Oh Cho! I forgot to put something in your trunk. You know that piece of rubbish that’s been sitting on your nightstand before, during, and after you were snogging with Diggory. Do you want it back?” Marietta said as she held a picture frame with Harry Potter playing Quidditch from Cho’s third year. Cho again reached for her wand and pointed it in the direction of Marietta, and Danielle.

“You…you give that back right now Marietta or I’ll kill you.

“Oh my! Making homicidal threats now are we Cho. Tisk tisk…You know if you weren’t in my house, I’d take ten points for that right now.” Marietta looked at the picture. “Well I guess we all know who keeps Cho wet between the legs at night.” She and Danielle chuckled. “Here you can have it. Better enjoy it. It’s all that’s going to be left of him after he meets up with You-Know-Who.” Danielle put in as Marietta tossed the picture at Cho’s feet. “That is, if he’s even telling the truth about what happened.” Marietta finished. Cho picked the framed picture of Harry. The glass was broken, and Harry was rubbing a fresh burse on his head that had not been there before. Cho shot the two of them a look of deep hatred.

“What’s that supposed to mean. Don’t you read the papers? He’s a hero, and he defeated You-Know-Who, and his Death Eaters at the ministry of Magic last year. Cho said in Harry’s defense

“Really Cho? I thought that last year you kept telling me that all the papers were rubbish. And while I’m not denying that he took on You-Know-Who’s Death Eaters, there is some doubt as to weather You-Know-Who himself is back. After all…One of the primary witnesses ended up taking his own life before he could give any details about what really went on. And Dumbledore said that he couldn’t divulge the names of most of the other people involved, so as to not…”Blow their cover” as he put it. So really, it’s just the word of the Head Master and a few students about what really happened.

“Luna saw everything. She can tell you, not that I would have her bother trying to convince you two. You’d probably be happy about his return, and join him.” Cho finished.

“Not really. He was a bit to extreme for us. We want the mudbloods out, but not dead. Not that we would miss them, but…were really just looking out for the greater good of society. People who don’t come from pure magical linage don’t have any business in our world. They need to leave. Anyway I read an account by Lunatic Lovegood in that stupid magazine, the Quaker, and she never personally saw You-Know-Who, and nether did any of Potters friends. Just him and the head Master. But than again, knowing how crazy she is, his return might be about as real as a Crumple Horned Snorack.” Cho threw up her hands, and walked away without another word. If she exchanged another word with Marietta and Danielle she would be expelled for what she would do to them. She made her way to her new dorm room where Luna was visiting with Beverly and Nancy.


	15. Chapter 15: Things You Learn Hiding Under a Common Room Table

Hello Vodkaholic! Cho is overdramatic yes, It's just that her life has been so progressivly worse each year that she only sees the worst possible situation for herself. 

   Marietta gave him a memory charm, one that made him forget about running into her, and her mates, and made him think that he was mad at Cho for what happened in the DA last year. But Marietta only enhanced his anger at Cho, she didn't know he didn't like Draco. Harry went looking for trouble with Draco. 

        Fiona? No she just met him. I know she is in slythern, but she loves popular people, and she asked for his autograph in Diagon ALley. 

         I asked if you were Russian, because I read something in your profile and your name is Vodkaholic. 

        Congradulations on your country's victory in Chechnea. We all watched in horror here at what happend at Beslan, and then the two planes that were blown up. Before Beslan my friends and I were nuteral, but after we were hopping for a major Russian victory. I understand that since the war ended there has not been a single attack on Russia. 

     It's good to know the children of Russia are safe now. :)

 

**Chapter 15: Things You Learn Hiding Under A Common Room Table.**

After a while Cho finished explaining about the change of rooms, and why. Nancy Cromwell had a look of hurt on her face. “I don’t understand. What the hell did I ever do to them? And why are they acting like this now? They never used to hang out with me, but were always civil. Why do they hate me?” Nancy asked, with a tear in her eye. Cho had a guilty look on her face.

“Well the thing is Nancy…I made them be civil to you and everyone else not pureblood or up to what they consider acceptable, these last few years and…now that they and I are no longer friends, they have nothing to keep them from being the biggest gits on the planet. I’m really sorry if they hurt you guys, but I think that it’s actually turned out okay. I mean I’m really happy not to share a room with the two of them. I’d much rather be with my real friends. You guys have been great, and I missed all of you over the summer.” Cho finished grateful. Nancy smiled embarrassed.

“It’s okay Cho; you’ve always gotten our backs. And your right, it will be good to be away from those creeps. Screw them.” Nancy said hotly, and wiping away a tear.

“Here! Here! And were not about to let a couple of wankers like Marietta, and Danielle ruin our school year. I’m glad you decided to hang with us Cho. You’ve always been a great friend.” Beverly put in. Cho’s eyes lowered.

“No, I haven’t. I haven’t been a good friend at all these last few years. I divided my time up amongst my friends, because Marietta and Danielle wouldn’t associate with any of you. I should not have let Marietta determine when I could hang out with certain people, and when I couldn’t. I should have told her that if she didn’t want to hang out with any of you that she couldn’t hang out with me at all. But…I didn’t. Instead I scheduled my time like my friends were a business, and selected when I could hangout with which friends. I also spent the lion’s share of my time with Marietta. I’m sorry guys. I let you all down. I hope you can forgive me.” Cho said softly. Her three friends gave her a group hug. Nancy spoke.

“Look Cho, the thing is that you’re enough of a friend that you made time to be with all of us. You actually defied Marietta telling you to keep away from us, and were never embarrassed to talk to us in public, and never ignored us. And I remember you being there for everyone in this room when it really mattered. When no one else seemed to be there for us. You _are_ a good friend, and we’re all honored to have you with us.” Beverly finished. Cho sincerely smiled.

“Thanks guys. But I promise you that this year will be different. This year I’m not going to divide my time up at all. If any of my pureblood friends will not welcome you guys as a friend, than I’m not interested in being theirs. I promise.”

As the conversation continued Cho unpacked her steamer trunk and gave out the gifts that she had bought for Beverly, and Luna. She was glad that Beverly had agreed to go to the joke shop for her that last day in Diagon Alley for her and get Nancy’s Weasley’s Wildfire Whizbangs for her. She would have been too embarrassed to run into Harry with his girlfriend there. Cho was disappointed to find out that “The Magic Eight Ball” was not actually magic after all but, a novelty item, but the four girls had fun with it, asking it all kinds of yes or no questions. Cho also showed Luna some muggle money and explained the value of each if she ever decided to visit any Muggle sights. After a while, a girl with dark black hair, and a pink flower braid, on walked in with a steamer trunk. Cho and Beverly recognized her as Erica Goldberg, a Ravenclaw seventh year, and evidently Cho’s and Nancy’s new room mate. She had shared the room with Beverly, Caoimhe Duffy, and Jill Tanaka in previous years. Erica was surprised to see Cho and Nancy in with their things unpacked in her room, but Beverly explained about Marietta’s reasons for getting Professor Flitwick to agree to a change. After more socializing the five girls realized that it was getting late, and Beverly, Nancy, and Erica got ready for bed. Luna started off to her Dorm room two floors down. Cho garbed a Charms book, a quill and some ink, and started to follow her out the door. Nancy had a look of surprise on her face.

“Cho? Where are you going?” she asked bewildered. Cho turned to her at the doorway.

“Oh…I have some work to do for tomorrow. I’m going to go to the common room to study.” Cho said mater of factly.

“But we haven’t even had our first class yet. I know you like to do homework, although I’ll never know why, when it’s not assigned to you, but why not wait until we at least have our first class.” Nancy.

“Well the thing is that I’m really behind and I need to catch up. Just for a little while.” Cho said.

“Whatever.” Nancy finished as she climbed into bed. Cho left went out the door with Luna hearing Beverly say to Nancy, that at least with Cho wanting to do extra credit work that it was a sign that she was returning to her old self again.

When Cho and Luna were out of earshot Cho whispered quietly that she needed to speak to Luna in the common room alone. The common was dimly lit this late at night, and it was difficult to make their way to a seat in the dark. The two of them sat at a table with a gray table cloth, by the window and Cho explained to Luna everything that went on over the summer. She explained about her mother being in a Muggle hospital and her work as a volunteer and all the classes she took, and books she read, about the disease. When she had to explain about a radical Mastectomy to Luna Cho finally broke down in tears, on Luna’s shoulder who held Cho’s limp body and sat horrified at the thought of the procedure. Luna stroked Cho’s hair for a time telling her that things were going to be alright. Cho explained that the family considered it a very private matter, and that she was really not supposed to talk about it with anyone, but she was going to go crazy if she couldn’t let at least one of her friends know how she felt. The two girls talked for an hour and Cho pored her heart and sole out to Luna about everything, including how she could not get Harry out of her head, and how he yelled at her on the train. Luna took particular offence to this. She also liked Harry, though just as a friend and thought it was horrible for him to treat Cho like that. Marietta was the one who had betrayed the DA, not Cho. Cho never had a jinx on her face.

“Look.” Luna said. “I’ll have a talk with Harry tomorrow. I’m sure he didn’t mean it Cho. There must be some explanation why he acted like that. I mean maybe it was after he got in trouble for attacking those three Slytherins, and he was just mad at the world.” Luna finished. Cho wiped away another tear, and looked at Luna perplexed.

“What do ya mean, attacked three Slytherins?” Luna explained about how she heard that Ernie Mac Millan, a Hufflepuff prefect had had to take points off Harry for some kind of altercation on the train. Cho just lowered her head.

“Poor Harry, I’m sure that he couldn’t have started it. There must be some mistake. Luna, will you please tell Harry when you see him that I didn’t mean to get everyone in trouble and I’m sorry about Marietta doing what she did.” Cho pleaded.

“Look Cho. I’ll tell Harry that you’re sorry about how things turned out, but you don’t have any reason to feel guilty. You had every **_good intention_** of showing Marietta that Harry was a good person, and changing her mind about him, and whatever she did to disrupt the DA was her own doing. I know that you would have never tried to get Harry in trouble. I’ll talk to him for you, but let’s get to bed for now, it’s getting late, your not going to get any work done, and besides, Nargles come out of the woodwork and bite people during these hours the most. Cho started to follow Luna to the stairwell entrance, but as they reached it they heard familiar voices coming toward them. Luna whispered to Cho. “Marietta and Danielle. I was hoping to avoid them.” Cho nodded her head.

“Me too.” Cho said.

“Let’s just rush past them.” Luna said. Cho looked at her bewitched watch, and whispered to Luna that it was past curfew and that Marietta would give detention to the two of them if they were caught. She then pulled Luna over to the table that they had just been sitting at and the two of them crawled underneath it, and pulled the tablecloth down low over them just as Marietta, and Danielle entered the room. Cho and Luna could not see Marietta or Danielle, but could hear them moving around the common room.

“Anyone here?” Marietta’s voice called. The ceiling of the common room brightened as Marietta turned the knob of the unlit oil lamp by the door that had been bewitched to control the brightness of the ceiling. The room became brighter but the table clot still hid Cho and Luna from sight.

“Your not really going to sneak out and see _him_ now are you Marietta?” Danielle asked worried.

“ **Shhhhh!** Danielle! The paintings. Gelo Abdo! Gelo Abdo! Gelo Abdo! Gelo Abdo!” Marietta shouted as Cho and Luna saw four bright flashes from underneath the table. “There that should do it.” Marietta said satisfied.

“Are you sure that it’s necessary to do this now? I mean what if one of the ghost sees you?” Danielle said.

“Then they will get a memory charm just like Potter. It’s harder to work one on a ghost but I studied this summer when I received the assignment. And it’s necessary to get some plans laid out now. I’m going to have a lot of work to do for my classes this week, and I need to get the society’s work underway when I’m working on my studies. Are all the leaflets handed out to all the appropriate students?” Marietta asked.

“Yes. We have Pansy Parkinson and Oliver Skint in Slytheren, and Brian Walsh in Hufflepuff. We couldn’t find a Hufflepuff girl that we could trust with the job. We also have Devin Smith and Lori Sanchez in Gryffindor. They all have their material and assignments. Everything’s set for the first Hogsmead weekend.” Danielle stated worried. “Look Marietta. I don’t know if the society would approve of your relation ship with _him_. Are you sure you know what your doing?”

“No need to worry about that. When he is who he becomes he is a pureblood. He is who ever he becomes. And the society has given me a free hand in the planning of this operation.” Marietta said flatly.

“But what about the room? It’s not going to take the ghost or that poltergeist too long to find another bewitched room. And the Head Master will be asking filch a few questions since that’s not his office. What happens then?” Danielle continued with concern.

“I’ll get a plan worked out for that tonight. The room is in a remote part of the castle so, it will be some time before any of them come across it. By that time I might just have it un-jinxed if we come up with a better plan. If any of them find it before then, which isn’t likely, Filch can just deny knowing about it. Besides I’ll up any trace of evidence every night. No one’s going to find out anything. Oh! We also have to start working on Caoimhe. We have to let her know the importance of her heritage. Pollyanna has already been spoken to over the summer by some friends and she’s learning the importance of being with her own kind. Look I’ve got to go before it’s to late. I’ll fix the paintings when I come back. If anyone comes in they will just think that they are sleeping, which is probably what they were doing anyway. Now get some sleep. We have work to do tomorrow after class.

The room dimmed as Marietta turned the knob on the oil lamp that turned off the illumination of the ceiling, and left through the portrait. Cho and Luna waited a few minutes after they heard Danielle walk up the stairs to her room. The two girls made their way to the lamp and turned up the illumination on the ceiling a little. They looked around at all the paintings on the walls. They all appeared to be sleeping. Cho walked over to a painting of a young wizard in front of a library, and poked it.

“Hello?” she whispered. “Hello? Wake up. Please wake up.” Cho finished, but the portrait did not move. In fact none of the pictures moved, or made any sound at all. “I don’t understand. What has she done to them?” Cho asked. Luna just gave a shrug. Cho went to the doorway of the common room.

“Where are you going?” Luna asked. Cho turned to her with a worried look on her face.

“I’m going to ask the lady and soldier in the portrait outside to come in here and take a look at this.” Cho said.

“But they can’t. They have to guard the door at all times.” Luna said. Cho thought for a minute.

“Well…there are two of them. If only one comes in for a minute it will be okay. I just need to test something. But …hold the door open for me.” Cho opened the door and exited out into the hall out side. Luna waited with baited breath. After a few minutes Cho finally reemerged. She did not look happy.

“What did they say?” Luna asked.

“They didn’t say anything. Their just frozen there, still as anything. Not moving at all.” Cho said worried.

“Do you think that Marietta killed all the paintings?” Luna asked.

“No, she’s more likely found a way to just keep them in a state of suspended animation. But I don’t know why…well I guess she wanted to make absolutely sure that no one saw her leave tonight.” Cho said.

“Who was she going to go see?” Luna asked. Cho gave a shrug.

“I don’t know, but I think that we need to keep a careful eye on those two from now on. I need time to think of a way to keep tabs on them. And maybe to talk to the Gray Lady tomorrow.” Cho gave a yawn. “God though, I’m tired. Look I’ve got to get some sleep. We’ll meet in the library tomorrow after our last class.” Cho finished. The two of them left to their respective dorm rooms. Cho found her three room mates fast a sleep, and she got changed for bed. She looked at the time on her watch. One fifty AM. She was going to be very tired in class tomorrow.

Authors note: As I have run out of what little I have that could be considered talent. The next chapter will be from Marietta’s point of view. I had hoped to keep it from only Cho’s and Harry’s perspective, but I’m really not that good. Still, I’ll try to keep it interesting.


	16. Chapter 16: The Secret Love of Marietta Edgencombe

  


**Chapter 16: The Secret Love of Marietta Edgencombe**

Marietta slid out of the small bed in the bedroom/bathroom combo. Scented candles adorned the room, and she brushed some wax off her Brest. She was naked; her hair was tossed, and she had a glow about her face. She went over to the night stand and opened the top drawer, and looked inside. It contained men’s underwear, a very old pistol, a wand, a pack of fags, and a lighter. She pulled out the pack of fags and lighter. Then returned to the bed, took one of them for herself, and gave the rest of them to her companion, Draco Malfoy. She kissed him passionately. He looked up at her. “I have to change back into _him_ now Marietta.” He said. Marietta lit her cigarette, and sighed.

“Must you, it’s disgusting.” She complained.

“If you want to discuss anything. Draco will dream about this tomorrow night.” he said as she lit his cigarette as well. He took the lighter and fags from her and put it on the night stand. Marietta tossed her head.

“That doesn’t sound so bad. I regret that we couldn’t bring him in on this, but he’ll be too watched by the Head Master, who has accused his father. But kill the mood if you must.” Marietta watched as Draco turned in to a clear jelled substance and reformed into her dear uncle Argus Filch.

“It’s would be bad if Draco hears too much. And we have much to talk about.” Filch said. Marietta took a drag off of her cigarette, and blew out a smoke ring.

“Will Uncle Filch dream of shagging me?” She asked casually. Filch looked at her.

“No. He will dream about what we say now. Draco will dream about shagging you. But you may give Filch an erection if you don’t put your clothes back on. Filch stated as he took a drag from his own cigarette. Marietta stepped out of bead again, and began to put her school uniform on.

“Now, about Potter. How do you want to start his decent?” Filch asked. Marietta smiled.

“Actually love. He has done us a great favor. He attacked Draco Malfoy and two other Slytherins on the Hogwart’s Express. When I first heard about it I thought you had started without me. But I found out that he and Draco have a vendetta that’s been going on since their first year. As a bonus he lost thirty points for his house. But I need a couple of days to find out where best to cause him to go off at other students. You just can’t have him go off at random at people.” Marietta said in a calculating tone. Filch just laid back against the bedpost supported by a pillow.

“If the society wants rid of him so bad, then why don’t you just let me kill him? I could do it tomorrow.” he stated casually. Marietta just smiled.

“Humph. It wouldn’t be so easy to kill _The Harry Potter._ He has defeated You-Know-Who on several occasions. But even if you could, it wouldn’t help us. It would only make him a martyr. We need to shame him like the Ministry of Magic, and Daily Profit did last year. We need to have him become a villain again, and be hated by all. Then…if the situation allows, kill him.” She smiled, pulled up her pants, and walked over to the ashtray on the night stand. Marietta then turned to her Uncle and crossed her arms. “This next week will be spent gathering intelligence. Become who ever you need to. Find out what ever you can. Mrs. Norris will be the best cover. Oh! Did you find out anything in the great hall tonight? She asked putting on her braw and shirt. Filch taped his cigarette in the ashtray, and gave her a satisfied look.

“Potter has a practice game against Hufflepuff on Friday at five thirty. I can remain out of sight while everyone gets ready, but I need him to be by himself for a few minutes, and I need you to hide the body close by.” Filch stated. Marietta thought for a second.

“Humm. An invisibility cloak would do the trick. I’ll have my dear Uncle to send for one. It’s not going to be easy for them to pick up. They are hard to come by, but it would be worth the expense. I’m sure they can have it here before Friday. Where do you want us to wait?” she asked. Filch rubbed his chin in deep thought.

“Find out where the Gryffindor team changes into their uniform.” He said. Marietta finished tying her tie.

“Why don’t you stun him in the castle?” she asked.

“It’s out of range of the Quidditch Pitch. It would be too much trouble for you and Filch to take it to the pitch, and since were going to leave him there for the others to find I might as well do it there.” Marietta nodded. Filch got up and embraced Marietta from behind. She shook him off.

“Ewwww. Not while you’re _him_.” She said. He looked upset.

“Well why don’t I take the form of your friend Danielle then. She’s young enough. And she already has some knowledge about your plan. She is part of the society.” He said. Marietta gave him a look of distaste.

“I don’t fancy members of the same sex. It’s disgusting. Besides, Danielle is working on a need to know basis, and she doesn’t need to know everything that goes on in here. There must be a way that you can impersonate someone and not have them remember anything.” She said pondering a way to allow her lover to not have to look like Filch every time they talked.

“That’s the flaw in being what I am. They always remember. Some more, some less. But everyone remembers something. Why don’t you just zap a boy that I copy with a memory charm?” He asked.

“I can’t count on being able to catch a boy by himself every time I would have to zap him with one. Besides, I’m going to have too much school work to do to go around doing it. I would say that you could kill one for me and take his place…how does that sound?” She finished. Filch shot her a look of anger.

“ **Don’t say that!** Remember your Uncle will dream all that we have said tomorrow night. Besides, you couldn’t kill him. Do you know how painful it is to imitate the dead? You can’t imagine. Their mind is empty. It always feels lost. It’s agony. Not unless it’s absolutely necessary do I ever do that.” He said. Marietta smiled, and gave him a caressing hug.

“Well. It will be necessary soon love. It will be very necessary. I’ll make it to where it will be as short a time as possible though. What if we could keep a boy you copy alive? I mean somewhere that no one would find him. What exactly is your range from here outside the castle?” Marietta asked. Filch reflected, closing his eyes to concentrate. After a few minutes he spoke.

“Just inside the forbidden forest. About Three hundred yards inside I would guess. But if we tied anyone up and left them there, they would be dead very soon. Even if nothing to dangerous came that close to the edge of it, the bugs would eat him up after a few days. And I would feel it. And he would need to be fed, watered, and allowed to go to the lavatory. I would have to watch him all the time. And I could not attend any of his classes as him on the opposite side of the castle, as it would be out of range. And we can’t keep him here. I’m not going to be a nursemaid to a boy just so you can come here at night and have a good shag. Besides, this room is supposed to be temporary.” He finished. Marietta walked over to the dresser and looked in the mirror. She picked up a brush and began fixing her hair.

“I know. Danielle was worried about the same thing. I haven’t gotten it worked out yet, but the ghost will not come to this area any time soon. You’ll be okay for now.” Marietta finished.

“There is still the issue of the crate in Filch’s office, and what you’re going to do about it. How often will you need to stop by and cast a spell to keep it… _fresh?”_ Marietta frowned.

“The book from the mortuary says that the spells only last a week. I’ll have to be in there every Tuesday to keep it from rotting. Uncle Filch will just have to deal with it being in his office until I’m ready for it. It’s for the greater good of society and the society.” Marietta grabbed her Uncle’s head and pulled it to look eye to eye with her. **“I’m sure you’ll understand that Uncle. It’s a matter of greater good for society.”** She yelled, and let go of him. She then looked at her watch. “I’ve only a little time left, and I wanted to know more about racist insults that the Muggles use. I enjoyed the one you taught me. Calling Cho a chinc really seemed to hurt her feelings. Luck for me she’s always been so emotionally fragile. What else have you gotten for me? I’m hoping to have her in tears by the end of the week.” She smiled. Filch gave her a confused look.

“I thought she was your friend? Do you really want to do this to her?” He asked curious. Marietta tossed her head as she spoke.

“ _Was my friend.”_ She said bitterly. And will be again in good time. But she needs to be punished for defying me…and for the company she’s kept over the years. I will crush her sprit. But after I have, I will forgive her and welcome her back. After all she is still pure blood, and she did defend me to that impure, son of a mudblood mother. That defender of the mudbloods, filth Potter. I suppose I owe her for that. Anyway, it’s for her own good.” She finished. Filch thought for a minute.

“Alright. The first step to hurting anyone is to make them feel self conscious about their looks. Tell Miss Chang that you would punch her in the face, but you see that someone already has.” Filch said mischievously. Marietta thought about it for a second, but wasn’t able to get it.

“I don’t understand. No ones punched her in the nose.” She said clueless to the racist remark. Filch gave a look of disappointment.

“It’s a remark about her ethnic features. People who have Asian ethnic features tend to have their noses close in to their faces. It’s saying that she has a flat nose.” He stated casually.

“But there is nothing wrong with that. Many people in this country have…flat noses as you say. How is that an insult?” Marietta said, still not understanding the lesson in bigotry. Filch slapped his head in frustration.

“It doesn’t matter. Pointing out the certain features in others and making them feel excluded, and different, hurts people feelings. Believe me it works. I’ve been doing it for centuries. I’ve started wars amongst the Muggles, by getting people to hate each other for silly reasons like religion, race, color, and the like. My personal best moment for causing people to hate each other was when I impersonated several Japanese Commanders in nineteen thirty-seven and nineteen thirty eight in a place called Nanjing, or Nanking, as you say in the West. My kind used to cause chaos in the Muggle world all the time before we started dying off. But anyway I’m getting off the subject with my reminiscing about better times. The point is if you really want to hurt someone’s feelings you have to point out how they are different. Even if there is nothing wrong with them, a good way to hurt someone is to make even the slightest feature a negative. I mean even here people make fun of others if they have a lot of pimples, or have big teeth, or things like that. Try to look for the differences in this girl, and point out how she is not like most people. You have the advantage, as there are very few Asians here that are not from the subcontinent of Asia. So Miss Chang is in a small minority. In fact I believe she is the only ethnically Chinese person in Ravenclaw. Too bad Japanese insults about the Chinese usually don’t translate well into English. I used to make fun of Chinese all the time when I was in the Imperil Japanese Army. I made fun of white people too.

Of coarse ethnicity or color doesn’t really matter, but as long as people think it does you too can use it to your advantage. Hate is power Marietta. Never forget that. Hate can allow you to achieve wonderful things. I saw a man in Germany build up a destitute and hopeless people by telling them that they were better than anyone else. And with the help of a Dark Wizard, they became one of the most powerful nations in the Muggle world. He dispatched his enemy’s by the millions. He also made some people who were ethnically different scapegoats by pointing out how they were different and blaming all of his peoples problems on them. Of coarse he was defeated, but he almost won. I was with the Japanese when we were his allies. He, like Prime Minister Tojo, used hate to inspire the people.

Marietta looked at Filch curious. “How long will you live?” She asked. He looked bake at her a little sad.

“Not much longer. My time is almost up. I’ll only live at the most another two hundred years.” He said. Marietta’s jaw dropped.

“Two hundred years is a bloody long time! That’s sooo far off. I won’t live two hundred years.” She stated. Filch stretched his arms to the ceiling, took another drag off his cigarette, and looked at her with a knowledge that she would never comprehend how short two hundred years was for someone who had lived so very long. “And still you can be anyone. It’s like having the power of eternal youth. Only a vampire is as fortunate. And you can even go outside in daylight.” She said enviously. Marietta walked back up to him. He looked down at her and caressed her soft cheeks.

“Who do you want me to copy tomorrow?” he asked. Marietta gave out a playful laugh.

“I can’t come here tomorrow. I’m going to have a lot of school work, and my Head Girl duties will keep me excessively busy. Plus my work for the society. I won’t be able to come back until Thursday. But I’ll be formulating a plan to deal with Potter and Chang.” She said happily.

“Well also work on a way for me to take the place of a student. I hate being your Uncle and his cat. He has a bladder infection and Mrs. Norris has flees. You can’t imagine what it’s like to have them crawl all over your body and bite you all the time. Marietta caressed his cheek.

“Aw poor baby. Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. Maybe I can find a way to build an invisible house in the forbidden forest. If I get the invisibility cloak I requested sneaking out of the school won’t be a problem. But I really think that the ghost may never find this place. They don’t really know to look for it. If we keep a boy in here you can take his place, and have your run of the castle. All we need to do is make sure that he has enough food and water, and hygiene supplies. We can keep him in here until were finished for the year. Then we get rid of him. And we can find other places for our intimate encounters as well.” She said with a seductive smile.

“And who would you prefer me to take the place of if I agreed?” Filch said. Marietta thought for a few minutes.

“Who is the boy with the biggest dick in Hogwarts? **No!** Who is the pureblood boy with the biggest dick in Hogwarts?” She corrected herself. Filch was stunned.

“Pureblood? You would be willing to kill a pureblood for your own satisfaction.” He said amazed at the boldness of her query. Marietta gave out another playful laugh.

“Come now my love. Making a few necessary sacrifices is all part of the plan. Tragically a few purebloods have to die if Potter is to be sent to Azkaban and made the enemy of all purebloods. The boy we choose for you to replace will simply be another of Potters victims. And I’ll have all the evidence point to him.” Marietta finished proud of herself.

“When your uncle dreams of this tomorrow night. He will inform the society that you’re going too far after he wakes up. Now I know why you didn’t want me to take the form of your friend Danielle. She also would be right off to the society as well.” Filch said worried. Marietta smiled.

“That’s why I’m going to hit him with a memory charm when he wakes up, and that’s why we need to imprison one of the boy students in here, so you can take his place and he can’t tell anyone, being that the room is sound proof. So I ask you again, so I can get to work on it…who’s the pureblood with the biggest dick in Hogwarts?” she asked lovingly. Filch smiled.

“That will take some time to find out.” He said.

“Than get to it. I need to go and change the paintings in the common room back before anyone wakes up. I’ll be back on Thursday. I’ll see you in the great hall as Mrs. Norris. Now, you were wonderful tonight lover. Turn back into Draco Malfoy so I can stick my tong down your throat.” She smiled seductively. After his transformation they shared a loving kiss, and Marietta exited out the secret panel in the wall. She made her way back to the portrait in front of the Ravenclaw house entrance, and reversed her earlier spell. The two figures in the painting were none the wiser, it was as if nothing had happened. Marietta gave the password, and proceeded to the common room, also reversing the spells she had cast earlier in that room. It was five twenty in the morning when she finally got to sleep. She would be completely exhausted in the morning, but it was worth it to finally see her lover again. And no one, other than Danielle, was any the wiser that she had even left the house.


	17. Chapter 17: The Hate of the Gryffindors

 

    Vodkaholic: Marietta has a master, but it's not Voldermort, and she is more given to an ideal of what she wants, and working with people who are like minded. She is not as loyal to any superior as Belatrix lestrange is. She's not the type of person who would have spend years in Azkaban like Lestrange did.  


**Chapter 17: The Hate of the Gryffindors**

Harry and his mates were in class for their first Defense against Dark Arts lesson. The three Gryffindors sat in the back of the room to avoid their new teacher. Professor Snape was giving a lecture about ancient creatures. They were sharing the lesson with the Slytherins from their same year. The lesson had been going on for an hour. Harry would look at Pansy Parkinson, who had lost a lot of weight, from time to time, and lose concentration on his lesson. Snape would give Harry a scathing look every so often, when ever he walked bye.

“Now amongst the many ancient creatures in the world, is one particular specimen, known as the vampire. Vampires until recently have been an enemy of Wizarding kind. But with the success of privately owned blood banks in most developed nations such as ours, in the nineteen eighty’s, vampire attacks have become rare. And who can tell me the name of the treaty that was signed four years ago between the Ministry of Magic, and the Vampire Royal Prince, Hearth.” Snape said. Hermione’s hand instantly shot up, and she shook it violently, trying to get Professor Snape’s attention. He merely ignored her and walked over to a clearly distracted Harry. **“Mr. Potter!”** He yelled slamming an open hand on Harry’s desk, and startling him. Harry jumped and looked up at Professor Snape. “Mr. Potter, have you been paying attention?” Snape asked. Harry looked at him still stunned.

“Yes Professor.” Harry said nervously. Snape smiled a large toothy grin.

“Good, than perhaps you can tell me the answer.” He said still grinning. Harry hadn’t heard the question. And tried to stammer out an answer.

“I…that is…the answer is…a shield charm?” Harry asked.

“Ten points from Gryffindor _Mr. Potter._ And ten points from whoever can’t get the same question right. _”_ Snape chided. Harry gave a sigh of distress. Snape walked over to the table that Malfoy sat at. “Now…fortunately we do have a few students in this class that are of superior intellect. Ones that unlike Mr. Potter, can manage to pay attention, and answer correctly. Mr. Malfoy?” Draco Malfoy Looked up to his favorite teachers eyes, with a worried look on his face. “Mr. Malfoy, please tell the class the name of the treaty signed four years ago, between the Ministry of Magic, and the Vampire Prince Heath.” Snape asked with confidence. Draco, merely put down his head, and sighed.

“I…I don’t know sir.” He said embarrassed. Snape’s face turned beat red.

“Don’t know? Don’t know? What do you mean you don’t know? I’ve just been talking about it for the last five minutes.” Snape asked angry. Draco slumped back down in his desk. Draco had a look of depression on his face.

“I’m sorry Professor; I must have just missed that one part.” Snape gave him a look of contempt. And walked back to the front of the room.

“Well who else can tell me?” He asked. Hermione spoke up with out being called on.

“Professor Snape. You forgot to take ten points off of Slytheren.” She said anxious. Snape shot her a look that sent a chill up her spine.

“Oh thank you for reminding me Miss Granger. You’re very right. Draco that will be ten points.” Draco gave Hermione an equally vicious look. “And I think ten points off for you Miss Granger for talking in class without permission.” Snape said in a sneering tone. Hermione gasped, but did not say anything. Snape rubbed his chin. “However, you have also caught me in a generous mood. I’ll give you a chance to get those ten points back…for the benefit of the class. Tell us, what was the name of the treaty that the vampire’s signed with us four years ago?” He asked casually. Hermione stood up and started in a confident voice.

“It was the Blood-Wand Pact.” Hermione stated. Snape nodded his head.

“And it provided for…?” Snape challenged.

“A ceasing of all hostilities between vampires, and wizarding people, and a ceasing of all attacks, on Wizarding and Muggle, humans. In return several blood banks in the United Kingdom would be set up exclusively for vampire consumption. It allowed the vampire’s of this country to live in peace, and allowed members of the wizarding world, and Muggle world to live without fear of attacks from vampires. It also led to similar treaties with the vampires across the channel in Europe, and All other developed countries.” Hermione finished. Snape again begrudgingly nodded his head.

“Fine Miss Granger you get your ten back.” Snape walked over to Pansy Parkinson and looked down at her.

“And now Miss Parkinson, can you tell me why vampires continue to attack people on occasion.” He asked. Pansy nervously stood up. She stammered for the words, and found them.

“Well…it’s because…some vampires are just evil. I mean…they have a blood lust don’t they. Like they can’t control themselves. So every so often, when they are feeling a bit starved, and don’t want to bother with standing in the queue at the blood bank…the more villainous among them, attack people, and drain out all their blood.” Pansy finished. Snape gave a weak clap.

“Well done Miss Parkinson. Ten points to Slytheren. And now to Mr. Weasley.” Snape continued, moving over to where Ron was sitting. Ron had a concerned look on his face. “Mr. Weasley, can you tell me the two possible results of being bitten by a vampire?” Snape said with an angry expression. Hermione’s hand shot up again, but Ron gently grabbed her arm, and lowered it. He gulped and gave Snape the answer.

“The first one is that you become a vampire if you are bitten. Doomed to live forever in darkness. And the second is that…you…die.” Ron finished, nervous at the thought. Snape had an expression of surprise on his face.

“Yes very good Mr. Weasley. You become a vampire, doomed never again to see the light of day, or you… _die!”_ Snape said. He walked to the front of the class, and faced the students. “Just like Miss Iris Foxmead. This summer a vampire got a hold of her, and drained her of all her blood. From what I understand it was very messy and as the killer hasn’t been caught yet, and for the benefit of all the students here, and especially all those from the Dover area, tomorrow we will be learning how to defend ourselves against vampires. For your home work you will each write a four foot long essay on the history of vampire attacks.” Snape said. He then turned to Draco Malfoy. “Mr. Malfoy. You will write one six feet long.” Snape stated with a tone of disappointment. Draco nodded, his expression unreadable. Snape again turned to address the students. “Now get out of here the lot of you.” Snape said annoyed. Harry and his mates rushed out the door and made their way down the hall. Ron and Hermione gave Harry a quizzical look. Harry felt their eyes bore into him, and wondered what they were looking at.

“What?” Harry asked. Ron looked embarrassed, but spoke up.

“Well…it’s just that you seemed to be staring at Pansy Parkinson really hard. What was up with that?” Ron asked. Harry shrugged

“Oh that. I just noticed that she lost a lot of weight over the summer, and…well some other stuff changed about her.” Harry said innocently. Ron smiled.

“Yea I noticed she gained weight in a few other more desirable places.” Ron finished, in a sly tone. Hermione gagged.

“Yuck! Is that all that you guys think about? About sex?” she said disapprovingly. Harry and Ron looked at each other, and then at Hermione.

“Well yea, lately.” Harry said. “That, and Quidditch. I just really haven’t been able to stop myself thinking about girls.” Harry said genuinely. Ron suddenly slapped his head.

“Oh, Harry! I forgot to tell you that I’ll be late to Quidditch practice tomorrow about an hour.” Ron stated apologetically.

“Why Ron?” Harry asked. Ron began to blush.

“Well actually that’s the day I have Special Effects class with Luna Lovegood.” Ron said smiling. Hermione gave him a scalding look.

“Ron! I thought you agreed not to go out with that stupid girl. Why don’t you drop that class? We need to work on your Vampire sheet anyway. You’ll need my help.” Hermione finished, in an authoritive tone. Ron gave a frown.

“Why would you say that about Luna? I thought that the two of you got along fine at the Ministry of Magic last year. And if I were not taking the class I would be playing Quidditch. What makes you instantly assume that I need your help with My Vampire essay? Think I’m stupid do you?” Ron asked offended. Hermione looked a little hurt.

“Well I always have to do a lot of yours and Harry’s work for you, and I may have gotten along with Luna at the Ministry, but that was before…” Hermione stopped herself. “…anyway you read the article in the Quibbler, it said that they had captured a Crumple Horned Snorack, and that they were going to lend it to Hogwarts this year. Even had an article with a picture of the Snorack, except that there was no Snorack, just an empty space. And what book were we assigned in Care of Magical Creatures Class? “Walking with Giants”, that’s what. We weren’t assigned any books on Snoracks. So that means Luna is a liar. Do you really want to spend your time with someone like that?” Hermione said in a condemning manner. Ron looked at her shocked at the frustration she was displaying.

“Look Hermione. Luna’s a nice girl. I’ll be the first to admit that she has an overactive imagination, but so what if that Snorack thing doesn’t exist. She’s just a little into having imaginary creatures. I think it’s kind of cute actually. I think that you’re just jealous. And if you _fancy me_ why don’t you just say so, instead of using Victor the Crumb to make me jealous. Come on! Come out and say it!” Ron said hostile. Hermione gasped offended.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She said offended.

“Oh really?” Ron said hotly. Hermione turned up her nose, and started to speak.

“Really! I…mmmph!” Ron grabbed her head, and gave her a long kiss. When he finally pulled away. He looked at Hermione. She was frozen, and her jaw fell open.

“Look Hermione. I’m new to this dating thing, and I want to try seeing a few other girls, to see what going out with different ones are like. I don’t know if I’m ready for a commitment now, but mum said that sometimes girls will do odd things to show a boy that she is interested in them. Like how you talk about Victor all the time to make me jealous. I don’t think that we should hide the fact that our just friends persona is just a façade. I really have feelings for you. Well…like I said, this dating thing is really weird to me, so I want to start slow. Do you want to go to the first Hogsmead weekend with me as my date? Hermione…Hermione…?” Ron waved his hand in front of her face.

“Sure Ron, I understand. Take it slow. Hogsmead would be great. I have to go to…somewhere.” She said in a robotic tone, as she stumbled up the stairs, a slight smile on her face. Harry looked at Ron, who then turned to Harry.

“I…I don’t know what came over me. I just felt I had to say it. I could never repeat it. I feel really weird Harry.” Ron said queasy. Harry patted him on the back. Its okay if your late tomorrow Ron, but are you sure that your not ready for a commitment? I mean Hermione and you blatantly have deep feelings for each other.” Harry said in a caring tone.

“That’s just what I mean Harry. I _do_ care about her. I’m sure that we’ll end up together, but I don’t want to go through my entire life without having even been out on a single date with another girl. I really can’t explain it to you; I just want the experience of dating casually.” Ron finished.

“No problem Ron. But make sure that you get to the pitch some time tomorrow; it’s our last one before our actual practice match with Hufflepuff on Friday. I’ve got some new ideas, for some aggressive plays that will put us ahead in the game. But we’ll go easy on them for the practice match.

At lunch Harry, Ron, and Neville were enjoying their lemon pie. Hermione had not been seen since Ron gave her the kiss. Harry found himself looking over at the Ravenclaw table for Cho Chang. She wasn’t in there. A couple of Ravenclaw girls with Red, white, and black armbands were passing out pink leaflets. One of them was none other than Marietta Edgencombe. Lori Sanchez, a Gryffindor seventh year, with impossibly dark hair, a pointy nose, olive completed skin, and a notebook with pink leaflets sticking out of it came up to the three of them. She was wearing one of the red armbands with a white circle in the middle, and a black water drop symbol in it, on her arm. She smiled and extended her hand to Ron and Neville. “Hello Weasley, Hello Longbottom, how are you today?” she said with a cheery voice. Harry extended his hand but Lori pulled hers away casually, without looking at him.

“Very good Lori, how are you, and how was your holiday?” Ron asked. Lori’s smile became even bigger.

“It was great; I’ve spent the summer learning about my ancestors from Spain, and reading up on the teachings of my favorite author, Ian Watson. He’s a motivational speaker, and a profit of sorts. He has a lot to say about how the near future is going to be. What we can expect and what our part is going to be in it. He talks about our responsibilities to the wizarding world. I’ve been to several of his seminars, they are sooo inspiring. He’s also written several books. He’s going to speak in Hogsmead the first weekend were allowed there. It will be free to hear him, but by invitation only. You two should go. I wanted to give you a few leaflets with some important information on them. Including a list of his books, and interviews. Will the two of you read over this material? It may just save the Wizarding world.” She said happily, as she handed Neville and Ron each one of the flyers, and a ticket to the seminar. They began to read them.

“That sounds interesting. I’d like one too please.” Harry said politely. Lori didn’t look at Harry. But continued facing Ron and Neville as she spoke.

“It’s for invitation only, and I only have a set amount for a set amount of people.” She said her expression unreadable.

“Well if he’s claiming to be a profit…I’m really not interested. I’ve had enough of Divinization with that silly nuttier of a teacher Professor Trelawney.” Ron said. Lori laughed.

“Oh, no Weasley. Not that kind of Profit. I mean one that can shape the future through action. We all have a duty to make the wizarding world a more acceptable place for certain people. There is too much Muggle influence in our schools, and the worlds need to continue to be separated, for the good of both worlds. It’s about the importance of not mixing the races. Wizarding and Muggle.” Lori said proudly. Ron, Neville and Harry gave blank expressions.

“What do you mean not mixing the races Lori?” Ron asked.

“Simple, it’s important for the wizarding community to stay true to its heritage. Their was a time when the wizarding world didn’t allow mud…err…muggle-borne people in positions at the ministry. And now it seems their taking over. We need to politely explain to them that their presents are not wanted here. Their kind will never produce people who are as good as ours in quantity. Oh there may be a few exceptions to the rule, but not much. Now you two both coming from fine upstanding pureblood families yourselves, I knew that you would be interested in maintaining a world with less muggle interaction in it.” Lori finished. Ron gave her a disgusted look.

“Well you thought wrong Lori! I’m not big into maintaining a world with less muggle-borne’s in it. I don’t care about stuff like that.

“Really, I’m simply asking you to take pride in something that you are and will continue to be long after you leave Hogwarts. Muggle-borne’s can never expect to be true citizens of our world, surly you two must know that discrimination is a good thing, I mean look how long our world has been separated from the muggle world. Ron, our mothers know each other, and I’ve been to your house before. Hasn’t your own mum complained about your father’s obsession with muggle affairs? Hasn’t she referred to muggles in general with an air of distaste before? And that was just over tea.” Lori finished.

“Look she was referring to the ways that muggles do some things, that’s all. She likes my friend Hermione, and her parents, and she’s got no problem with muggle borne attending Hogwarts. She just doesn’t like muggles in large groups. My mum doesn’t have a problem with Muggles at all. Most people like them.” Ron shot back defensively. Lori sighed.

“Ron…we all have different levels of tolerance for Muggle interference. Now I know that you have Muggle friends, and believe me, I’m not so hateful that I haven’t associated with them myself. Why…we even had one in our home once. But if you think that most pureblood people agree with you, you’re very much mistaken, and if you think that no one in your family shares any of Dr. Ian Watson’s and my views, than send an owl asking your mum if she thinks that we should reveal ourselves to the Muggle world. Or ask her if we should start acting like them or giving up our way of life for them, because they are offended by our use of magic.” Lori finished. Ron’s face was turning beat red by now, and he pointed an accusing finger at Lori.

“Lori, we are not going to have to ever give up our ways of doing things to appease the Muggles, and My mum just doesn’t like some of the way that they do things because, they are so foreign to her. And the worlds have to be separated because…because…err, Neville, tell Lori why they are separated?” Ron stammered the last part out. Neville reflected for a moment.

“Well…I think because the Muggles used to burn us alive along time ago.” Neville said weakly. Lori gave Neville a pat on the shoulder.

“Very good Neville. You see Ron. Even the Muggles think we should not have anything to do with each other. It’s just a matter of keeping ourselves safe from savages, who would kill us. I mean who really knows where the loyalty of the muggle-borne lie. They could be conspiring against people like you and me right now.” Lori lectured. Harry sat up and cleared his throat.

“Err excuse me Lori, but look at me for instance. I’ve been going to this school for six years now, and not to toot my own horn, but I think I’ve done pretty well here. I defeated You Know Who three times, and haven’t caused the purebloods any problems. In fact Ron and Neville here are two of my best friends, and their both pure blood. They don’t have a problem with me, so why should you?” Harry asked trying to maintain an aire of politeness. Lori Turned to Harry now and looked him in the eye.

“Of coarse were all grateful that you defeated You-Know-Who on those two occasions Potter, and it’s nice that two purebloods have been charitable to befriend you, but as for not causing purebloods any problems, didn’t you attack Draco Malfoy, and two other purebloods on the train coming here without provocation, and also in your fourth year as well on the train leaving Hogwarts? Causing the three of them to be rushed to St. Mungoes? Lori asked slyly. Harry looked embarrassed.

“Look I was provoked into attacking them in my fourth year after Malfoy boasted about You-Know-Who coming back, and saying Voldermort was going to kill me, and saying that Diggory deserved to die for being a half-blood. And as for this last time…well that’s a mistake that I regret. I just went off on him because…well I guess I have no excuse. I’m sorry it happened.” Harry finished. Lori stuck up her nose.

“Humph! I guess we purebloods are not allowed to express our opinions around you. Oh! I admit that what Draco said about Diggory was wrong, but I hope that we purebloods don’t have live in fear of being blasted with a jinx every time we say how we feel about something. And as for you blasting the three of them on the train this year, well I guess that’s just more proof that you’re a real danger to the rest of us students, like the papers said last year. And by the way. Saying your sorry doesn’t make up for the attack. I guess as long as your at this school, all of us purebloods are in danger. Ron was still red in the face. By this time several students were listening in on the conversation.

“ **Look Lori. I blasted Draco and his mates in our fourth year as well, as did my brothers.”** Ron interjected. Lori gestured to Ron with an open hand.

“You see Ron! He’s being a bad influence on you, getting you to attack your own kind. It’s sad what the Muggle-borne are making some of us do to each other.” Lori finished.

“Harry did not influence me to zap Draco at all. I did it because he’s a stupid son of a Death Eating git, and he had it coming.” Ron shouted. Lori for the first time had a look of anger on her face.

“ **Look Ron Weasley** , Luscious Malfoy was under the imperious curse if he was doing You-Know-Who’s biding. He has contributed a lot to humanitarian charities over the years, and enough people know that he’s innocent. That’s why he’s in a cell at the ministry of Magic, and not at Azkaban. He’s being set up by the mud…gle borne and their supporters for espousing his beliefs. And we don’t really know about You-Know-Who returning for sure anyway. I read the interview. You two never actually saw him, and neither did anyone else but Potter, and the Head Master. And with respect to his position, everyone knows that he coddles the muggle-borne. It makes me wonder if Potter doesn’t have him under the imperious curse. Harry jumped up on the table, and gave a shout for Lori to shut up. She and a few other students jumped startled.

“ **What are you going to do Potter…attack me like you did Malfoy and the others?”** Lori said backing away, a worried look on her face. Before Harry could speak Professor Sprout, the Hufflepuff head of House, and Herbology teacher, came up and yelled at Harry to get down.

“Mr. Potter, Miss Sanchez, what the bloody hell is going on here?” she said. Harry tried to calm himself. He stammered out the words through gritted teeth, pointing at Lori as he spoke.

“This racist… _person_ … has been agitating the three of us with her hateful opinion. She’s been agitating me on, and claims that I have the head master under the imperious curse.” Professor Sprout gave Miss Sanchez a suspicious look and raised her eyebrow.

“Really Miss Sanchez, is this true?” she asked. Lori lowered her head, and spoke quietly.

“I was just expressing my opinion about the need for purebloods to keep with our own kind. And the need to keep Muggle-borne and half bloods out of important positions in our society. And I was only suggesting about Potter using the imperious curse on the head master. I mean he seems to be pretty biased in favor of muggle-borne students I simply think that maybe Mr. Potter is possibly shaping his attitude in his way. I didn’t accuse. I simply stated a hypothesis. Anyway it looked like Potter was about to attack me. I guess that the papers were right last year.” Lori looked around at the students who had gathered to hear the debate, and continued at a slightly higher volume. “I mean…everyone knows about the three Slytherins that he attacked on the train.” Lori finished. Professor sprout folded her arms in front of her, and shot Lori an angry look.

“Miss Sanchez! I think it is a horrible thing to even suggest that a student at this school would ever use such a curse. The Head Master is not under the influence of anyone, and I’ll remind you that he treats every student as an equal. It doesn’t matter to him pure-blood or half-blood, or muggle-borne. Also you need to remember that Mr. Potter saved the entire wizarding world last year, by defeating You-Know-Who, and that’s hardly the action of someone who’s a danger to other students. And as far as you having a problem with Muggle-borne’s having important positions in the wizarding world…well I’ve been the Herbology teacher here for seventeen years, and I think I’m doing a pretty good job.” Professor Sprout finished. Lori’s eyes grew wide.

“What? You mean that your not pure-blood? I thought that all the teachers at this school were pureblood. I mean…You have to be pureblood.” She said shaken. Professor Sprout was livid at the blatant prejudice coming out Miss Sanchez.

“Miss Sanchez! I think that you need to keep your opinions to yourself. And I think that you need to spend three days detention helping me in the green houses, starting tomorrow.

“What! Oh come on! That’s not fair.” Lori protested, hating the idea of spending time with Professor Sprout, now that she knew that she was muggle-borne.

“Four days detention!” Professor Sprout shouted. Lori began to tear up, and sat back down. Professor Sprout turned to Harry. “Mr. Potter. Don’t let things that people say get to you. Now I know about the situation on the train, but that’s already been dealt with. But understand. No more attacks on students, or it will be more than losing points, or detention. Do you understand me?” Harry nodded. “Good. Now I have to finish my lunch, I…” Ron waved his hand.

“Professor, Lori was handing out this to us. I think that you should look into it. It looks like some hate filled material.” Ron said handing Professor Sprout the leaflets, and ticket. Professor Sprout began to scan over the material.

“Thank you Mr. Weasley. I’ll definitely look it over.” She said as she walked back over to the Masters table. Harry, Ron, and Neville resumed conversation, and discussed the events that just unfolded. Several other students were doing the same thing, most in a civil tone, but some were arguing with others about what had happened. Most were arguing in Harry’s defense, but a few were pointing to some pink leaflets, and arguing in favor of Lori. Harry was starting to really get aggravated.

“I can’t believe it. Why did the hat put _her_ in Gryffindor? Only good students go in our house. No bad student has ever been in this House. She should have been put into Slytheren with the rest of the stuck-up pureblood prudes.” Harry finished. Ron looked uncomfortable.

“Actually Harry, Worm-tail was in Gryffindor wasn’t he? I mean you told me about what Sirius had said. And we don’t know that no other bad wizards came from Gryffindor, or any of the other houses besides Slytheren.” Ron said. Harry just shook his head.

“Well I have to think that Worm-Tail and Sanchez are the only exceptions to the rule in Gryffindor.” But just then Harry looked at the other end of the table to see Devin Smith, a fourth year Gryffindor boy handing out pink leaflets to a few other students, who were leaving the great hall. He wore a red armband, with the black water drop symbol in it. “Oh great. Look guys, we have to get to Potions.” Harry stood up to leave. Ron and Neville stood up to follow just as Harry started off, still looking back at them.

“Look out Harry!” Ron shouted too late. Harry tripped over something and fell forward on the floor of the great hall. He looked back to see he had fallen over Mrs. Norris, who gave him a angry hiss. Harry raised a fist at her.

“Go away you bloody nucences. I’m tired of you. Miss Norris simply growled at him. Harry felt some one rush past him, and saw Filch sweep up his beloved cat.

“There…there poor baby. I won’t let the mean boy hurt you. You poor baby to have to go through so much, not being let out of the office in over a week.” Filch turned to Harry. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going Potter?” Harry frowned.

“What do you mean not let out of the office in a week? Mr. Norris was spying on me since I got here.” Harry complained. Filch gave him an angry look.

“No she wasn’t, she was…well you were probably up to no good. Just leave my cat alone Potter.” Harry threw up his hands and left to walk to potions class. Ron caught up with him half way to the class. As they passed the library’s open door Harry caught a glimpse of Cho Chang pouring over several large books, and writing on some parchment. She looked deep in her work. Harry stopped and looked at Ron. "Hey Ron. I’ll catch up with you. Okay?" Ron nodded, and headed off toward Potions class, as Harry walked into the library.


	18. Chapter 18: Fear of a Commitment

  


**Chapter 18: Fear of a Commitment**

Cho Chang was deep into her book as Harry walked towards her. She was still beautiful to him and that feeling in his stomach came back, but more subtle than last year. He wasn’t in love with her. She was just a crush last year, and really there wasn’t much to her personality, but he still couldn’t help admiring her physical beauty. He gazed at her enchanting almond-shaped eyes, her cute button nose, soft olive complection skin, and beautiful raven-black hair. Her face carried the same sadness that it had so often since Harry had known her. She was the only student in the library, and the librarian was in the back putting up some books. Cho was focusing so hard on reading that she didn’t even notice him walk up to her. Harry concentrated on the first words carefully before he spoke, as things had not been left well between the two of them last year.

“Um, hello Cho. How was your summer?” He asked softly. Cho jumped with surprise. And tried to stammer out a reply.

“Oh! Harry…I…you startled me. Uh… my summer? It was just okay. She lied. “How was yours?” Harry shrugged.

“Oh, you know, okay.” He lied as well. “May I sit?” He asked politely. Cho’s mouth dropped open. Her stomach churned inside, and her head felt numb. She was glad she was sitting, because she knew that if she tried to get up her legs would fail her. She couldn’t believe that Harry wanted to sit by her.

“ **God yes!”** She blurted out instantly embarrassed. “I mean yes, please.” She said in a voice she tried to keep calm. Harry did so with a slight smile on his face. Harry looked over at Cho’s parchment. It was five feet of notes in very small handwriting, dealing with potions, and diseases. The book that Cho had been reading from was very thick and smelled of new paper. It didn’t look like a book that one would find in the Hogwarts library at all. Harry closed it, keeping his finger between the pages so Cho wouldn’t lose her place. “What are you reading Cho?” He asked at the same time reading the title: **The Oxford Cancer Institute: Advanced Brest Cancer Treatment Medical Files Volume 4.** Cho looked embarrassed and pulled the book away from Harry, putting it in her book bag. Harry pulled his hand back.

“Oh. I…I’m just doing some research, for…a class. For potions class. We have to study Muggle…um…drugs. Yes that’s it; we have to study how muggles make potions called drugs.” Cho said nervously. Harry was taken aback by Cho’s behavior, but remembered that Luna had told him that Cho thought that he hated her, and Luna had also said that Cho and Marietta were no longer friends, but bitter enemies.

“Um look Cho… I haven’t seen you in the great hall since the feast. Where have you been?” Harry asked. Cho’s eyes went wide.

“You mean…you were looking for me?” Cho said with a weak smile beginning to come across her face.

“Well…kind of. I mean I noticed that you were not at your table. Look last year…we left things…well, I talked to Luna, and she told me that you thought I hated you. It’s not true. And I’m glad to hear that you and Marietta are not friends anymore. I just wanted to let you know that I don’t want things to be weird between us anymore. We can be friends. I mean if you would like.” He finished casually. Cho’s heart was beating so fast that it hurt. It felt as if it had risen up into her throat. She grabbed Harry from across the table, in a tight embrace as tears fell from her eyes.

“Thank you Harry! Thank you Sooo much!” she cried. Harry could swear that he felt his ribs crack under Cho’s squeeze; she seemed very strong for someone so small. He put his arms around her, and gave her a pat on the back.

“No problem. I’m glad that we can be friends again. Um so where have you been at every breakfast, lunch, and dinner?” Harry asked recalling again that Cho had not been in the great hall at anytime to his knowledge.

“Oh, I’ve been here mostly. I have to catch up on work. I’m really behind. I…didn’t do very well last school year. I need to make it up. And well I’ve been using some of my lunch periods to try and catch Marietta doing something well bad.” Cho finished. Harry gave her a strange look. What do you mean…bad?” he asked curious. Cho looked around the room, only the librarian, who was in the back of the room reading, and Filches cat, who could not understand what they were saying were present. She leaned forward to Harry speaking in a whisper.

“Well… the other night, Luna and I…we were hiding under a table in our common room…and well we overheard Marietta and Daniel Forester talking about a bewitched room in the castle. Someone that Marietta was seeing in it, that’s what they were talking about.” Harry interrupted her.

“Bewitched room? What kind of room?” Harry asked.

“Well I think it’s a ghost proof room. The two of them, Marietta, and Danielle were talking about how the ghost mite come across it, and they were worried about the head master finding out. And yesterday I came across the Gray Lady sniffing, and licking the stone on Filches office, and asked her what she was doing. She said that over the summer, Filche’s twin brother had been here with Marietta, and bewitched the office, to make it ghost proof. Well in doing so it became something that the ghost could touch, and smell, and even taste. So they hang around there a lot until Filch shoos them away. The Gray Lady said it was like euphoria just to touch the walls of the office. But Filch wants to keep it private whatever’s in there.” Cho finished. Harry had a look of shock on his face.

“So it was _Marietta_ with Filch and his brother over the summer” Harry said. Cho looked surprised.

“Oh! You knew about it already? I just found out yesterday when I talked to the Gray Lady.” Cho said. Harry told Cho about his conversation with Sir Nicolas at the beginning of the week.

“So who ever she was going to go see was in Filches office that night…I think…” Cho interrupted him.

“Oh no Harry, Marietta was talking about a second bewitched room. One in a part of the castle that the ghost usually didn’t visit.” Cho stated. Harry scratched his head.

“Second room? Where?” He asked. Cho gave a shrug.

“I don’t know. I’ve been following her around every other day, but she hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary. Luna’s watched her on the days when I had to do work like today.” Cho stated. The five minute warning bell rang for the students to get to class. Cho started putting up her books, and stood up uneasy as she was still in awe of being in Harry’s presents.

“Wait, where are you going?” Harry asked. Cho looked at him confused.

“Well we have to get to class. That was the warning bell.” She stated plainly. Harry put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“Hold on I want to hear the rest of this. Let’s skip class.” Harry said quietly. Cho gave him a terrified look.

“But…but…Harry that’s against the rules. We can’t do that!” Cho said nervously. Harry gave her a pat on the back.

“Don’t worry we won’t get caught. I know just the place to hide.” He said confident. Cho gave him a disapproving look.

“Well that’s not the point Harry. It’s against the rules. I mean if every student went around doing that all the time no one would get any of their work done. And well…as a sixth and seventh year, we have to set a good example to others.” Cho said pleadingly. Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He shook his head.

“Come on Cho don’t be a goodie two shoes. Haven’t you ever broken the rules before?” Harry asked. Cho gave an embarrassed look.

“Well twice, not counting DA classes, but I promised myself it would never happen again. I felt so guilty.” She said ashamed as she started for the door. Harry followed her and saw Mrs. Norris watching them.

“Err, maybe your right Cho. It would be best to go to our classes right now, as to not break the rules.” Harry said very audible. Then he put his lips close to Cho. She could feel his warm breath against her cheek, and felt that she mite faint. Harry whispered in her ear. I’ll send you an owl tomorrow night. Stay awake late. Don’t tell anyone, Okay?” He finished. Cho felt dizzy and although she was very happy she felt she might throw up. She nodded her head and Harry gave her a firm handshake before he left down the opposite direction of where she was to go.

Cho staggered into class and sat down and opened her transfiguration book. She wasn’t thinking about anything but her conversation with Harry, and she did not notice the other students confused looks, as many of them stared at her. She was in class for fifteen minutes before professor Flitwick shook the sleeve of her robe, and yelled…

“ **Miss Chang!”** Cho jumped from her stupor.

“What? Oh sorry, is it my turn to answer?” Professor Flitwick looked at her very concerned.

“Yes, it’s your turn to answer Miss Chang. The question is this: In this room one student is very different than all the rest. One student does not belong in this class. I want you to look around and tell me which student doesn’t belong here.” he finished. Cho looked around at the other students in the room. It didn’t take her long to find out which student did not belong, as she observed that she was in a class full of eleven year olds, wearing crest of green and silver, with a snake on them, or crest with yellow and black, with a badger on them. Also odd was that Professor Flitwick was teaching a Transfiguration class. It dawned on Cho very quickly that she had entered the wrong classroom, and not even realized it.

“Oh Professor, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…I’ll just get back to my class now.” She said nervous. Professor Flitwick gave another concerned look.

“Miss Chang, are you okay? You seem a bit lost, are you ill?” He said. “Cho hung her head.

“No Professor, I just…I wasn’t paying attention. I’m sorry.” She said. Flitwick just shook his head, and frowned.

“Miss Chang, you have to stay focused. I know that you’re still upset over what happened at the end of term the year before last. Believe me, we all regret it happened. And I know that the two of you were close, but you have to put it behind you. At some point the grieving process has to stop, and a year is quite enough time. Now I think that professor McGonagall is waiting for you. Just stay focused in her class. I’m not going to take off any points, as I expect that she will be doing that, but I would remind you that I wouldn’t’ t mind having the House cup in our common room for a change. So _please_ try and keep your head about you this year, every point counts. Cho nodded her head.

“I understand Professor. It’s not about Cedric, but I’ll make up any points I lose today. I promise.

“Good Miss Chang, now…get the hell out of my class, I’m trying to teach. He smiled. Cho left in a run for Transfiguration class around the corner.

“Harry was having trouble focusing in Potions as well. He had brushed against Cho’s soft skin when she touched him, he had felt the warmth of her body against him when they hugged, and he had caught a whiff of Cho’s hair, when he had whispered into her ear. It had smelled like vanilla, he had even tasted one of her tears as they hugged, and all that combined, had made him a bit dizzy with thought. Did he still have feelings for her? No. He couldn’t possibly…she’s a beautiful girl, and he would have felt the same if any beautiful girl had given him a hug. But there was something else. It was a feeling that he couldn’t describe. No. He told himself, she’ll most likely start crying again if you get back together with her. _I promised myself that I would have a good year at school, and being romantic with Cho would just complicate things. I have to start casually dating._ “I’m glad I let Cho know that I just wanted to be friends.” He said to himself under his breath. Now things won’t be weird. And now I’ll have some new clues to add to the mystery of what’s been going on here this summer. Harry started thinking about what he would do to discover the secrete, he would have to sneak out one night soon. But when? Hermione, Ron and himself would meet with Hagrid on Saturday, maybe he could bring Cho. No, he thought, at some point they would discus _order_ business, and he wasn’t allowed to let Cho know about that. She wasn’t a bad person, but the company she keeps was still questionable, aside from Luna, Harry didn’t know anything about her other friends, and even if Marietta and her were no longer speaking to each other, who knows how many other friends she mite have like that. Better to talk with Cho after he discussed things with Hagrid and the others. Harry made it through Potions class, and transfiguration and joined Ron and Hermione at dinner. They were arguing and the debate was heated.

“I don’t understand why I’m not enough for you! Why can’t you just be content with just me? Why do you want to shag every other girl in the school before you can commit to me?” Hermione said in a highly audible voice. Ron raised his hands in protest.

“Look Hermione, I’m not talking about shagging anyone, I just want to… to date other people as well. I mean I want to spend my first Hogwarts weekend at Hogsmead with _you._ You must believe me. I’m just not ready for what you want right now. But I want you to see other guys as well. I mean except for Victor. I want to end up with you, but I don’t want you to be the only girl I ever dated. I just want to casual date for a while, that’s all. And please keep your voice down a little. This is a private conversation. Ron stated exhausted.

“What’s so wrong with being with just me? If you know that we are meant to be together, than why do you need to be with anyone else? I can make you happy. We’ve wasted so much time already, that we could have spent together.” Hermione pleaded.

“What did I miss?” Harry asked a bit nervous to enter the fray. Hermione gave him a hurt look.

“Ron doesn’t want to commit to a permanent relationship with me. He wants to go gallivanting around lusting after every piece of arse in school. Harry tell him he’s being unreasonable.” Hermione pleaded.

“That’s not what I want at all! Look, I’ve only just turned sixteen, and well I just want to play the pitch for a bit. I want to date you a lot Hermione, but I want to well date other girls a little as well, just for a little while. You know have a taste of the different spices of life. Harry tell her that she’s over reacting, and that we have plenty of time for… well commitment. We’re only both of us just turned sixteen. Harry knew that he had stepped into a virtual hornets nest, but needed to help his friends to come to a peace. He sighed.

“Well…um…Hermione, didn’t you just say that you were okay with Ron and you taking it slow awhile ago? I mean…I thought that you two had already agreed on it.” Harry said diplomatically. Hermione gave a gasp.

“I… I was in shock! I didn’t know what to say. But now… now I’m sure that we need to be together. It’s true that I was using Victor to get Ron jealous, because I wanted to hear him say I love you to me. But he wants to date other people. He wants me to date other people. Why Ron?” Hermione said still in an audible that carried over to the Ravenclaw table next to them. Some students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were both looking towards the commotion. Ron was turning red with embarrassment.

“Look Hermione, please…be quite.” He said. Hermione gave him a last look of pleading.

“Ron, I don’t want to be you’re on and off again girlfriend. You have a choice to date me exclusively, or anyone but me. And you can’t go out with that…that…Loopy Lunatic at all…I forbid It.” she said in an authoritive tone. Ron looked at a couple of Gryffindor boys snickering at his chastising by Hermione, and felt he was losing face. He turned to Hermione with a look of anger.

“Look Hermione! Your not going to tell me what to do, and who I can and can’t see, your being over dramatic! I will never understand girls till the day I die. And if you don’t want to go out with me fine. I’ll take Luna. You can come back when your ready to act like a mature, reasonable adult, and not an over pretentious git!” Ron finished at the limits of his patients. Hermione started to tear up.

“And you can go to hell Ronald Weasley!” She said as she stormed off in tears. A couple of Gryffindor girls who were listing in on the conversation followed Hermione out of the great hall to lend moral support. Harry looked at Ron.

“Err…look Ron, I understand about you wanting to just casually date for a while, but… well it’s just that Hermione is right about you two having wasted a lot of time already. I mean how long has their been an awkwardness between you two that just screamed intimacy. I just think that you should maybe consider if you really want to casually date at this time.” Harry said calmly. Ron looked at Harry seriously.

“Harry if I committed to Hermione it would be for life, so I don’t want to do it. We’re young, and we have all the time in the world. She’s just being well unreasonable, and I’m just not in the mood to deal with it right now. She’ll eventually come to her séances, but until she does, I’m not going to play her drama queen game, she’ll come back to me, and I’ll have dating experience under my belt, so that I’ll know what to do when I’m with her.” Ron stated flatly. “Um by the way Harry, who are you taking out for the first Hogsmead weekend?” Ron asked curiously. Harry gave it a moment of thought.

“Well…I thought maybe Fiona Burrows, the Slytheren girl I met at Diagon Alley. What about you Ron?” Harry countered. Ron thought for a minute as well.

“I think either Luna, or Padma Patil.” He said. “Oh! Harry, how did it go with Cho?” Ron asked trying to steer the subject in another direction. Harry smiled happily. Well I made it perfectly clear that I just wanted to be friends, and that I didn’t want things to be weird anymore. So were cool. She had some interesting stuff to tell me but I want to wait until we talk to Hagrid to give details.” Harry said. “Oh! But you remember that I told you about my chat with Sir Nicholas the other day?” Harry asked. Ron nodded his head. Harry leaned in closer to him. “Well apparently the Ravenclaw girl who was with Filch and his brother was Marietta Edgencombe.

Cho sat on her bed smiling a genuine smile for the first time in what felt like a very long time. She was truly happy. And the tears that now ran down her cheeks were tears of joy. Harry wanted to be friends again, and Harry had looked for her each day, at her table, and he had noticed her gone for every meal. He still cared about her. At least she thought he still cared about her. Had Harry and his girlfriend broken up? Cho didn’t know, but she hoped that they would, with a twinge of guilt. She had indeed lost twenty points for being late to transfiguration class, but she didn’t care. She was happier than she had been in a long while, and she would work hard to make up the points later. The only downside was that she could not concentrate on the extra transfiguration homework that Professor McGonagall had given her, because she would constantly drift off in a day dream of Harry. She reached over to her night stand and picked up her already repaired picture of Harry, wishing that she had a more recent one. If she could only remember the name of the Gryffindor boy who always had the camera, maybe she could get a new one. She admired every detail in it, and looked around to make sure that no one was at the door, and then kissed the glass over the picture. “I miss you Harry.” She said to the photo. Cho couldn’t wait until tomorrow night, and she wished that she could have breakfast in the great hall, but knew that she had too much work to do. Eventually unable to concentrate on her assignment she fell asleep with a good dream for a change. One about being with Harry. Cho would have a well deserved rest this night, for once.


	19. Chapter 19: The Not so Daring Adventures of Cho and Luna

    Vodkaholic: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry about the misspellings. I've recently lost internet connection and had only a limited time to get online. I'll try to get it right more often. But some of that was sadly with spell check. Did you get the "Hate of the Griffendors Chapter? I was so tired of people pumping that house up to be flawless that I had to remind people that Peter Pedagrew who brought back Voldermort and killed Cedric Diggory was from Griffendore. 

        Is there anyone else out there reading this? I'd just like to know. THis sight doesn't have a "hit counter".  

          Thanks much,

                    Highice007  
  

 

**Chapter 19: The Not so Daring Adventures of Cho and Luna**

 

It was around midnight.  Cho waited in the dark, with great anticipation in her dorm room for a message from Harry. She had not gotten to see him except in passing all day and again found herself in the library at breakfast and lunch finishing Professor McGonagall’s assignment. At one point, Marietta had stopped in to insult her, by saying that she had a flat nose, but she didn’t care.  She was feeling beautiful, and it had been a good day. She had even made up half  the points she lost in Transfiguration class in Defense against Dark Arts. She wished that Harry was teaching it, though. The only bad thing about the day so far was that Cho’s stomach was churning from so many missed meals. But now she was waiting for something that was going to make her feel a lot better: an actual letter from Harry. She had left the window open waiting for an owl and had a few treats ready for its arrival. She was nervous and pacing the floor. Beverly, Nancy, and Erica were a bit annoyed at Cho for keeping them awake.

 Finally Beverly complained, “Cho, what the bloody hell are you doing? Go to bed! It’s late, and it’s cold, and we're all freezing because you have the window open.” 

“I’m not cold,” said Nancy. Beverly gave a slight chuckle.

“You’re never cold, Eskimo,” she joked.

“No. But Cho, your constant pacing the floor is keeping me awake. Why don’t you pace in the common room?” Cho stopped pacing, and sat down at the make-up table on the internal wall.

 

“I’m sorry guys, really. I just need a few more minutes. I’m expecting an owl,” Cho said apologetically.

 

“Well you could probably get it tomorrow morning with the rest of the mail. Why don’t you get some sleep?” Erica put in. Cho felt bad to be causing her friends distress.

 

“I’m sorry guys. Really. Just five more minutes, I promise,” Cho pleaded.

 

“Whatever.  Five more, then off to bed,” Nancy finished. 

 

Suddenly Luna came into the room, and, although she tried to be quiet, she was breathing heavily and started  calling for Cho in a loud whisper. Cho beckoned her over to the make-up, and then Luna whispered in Cho’s ear.

 

“Cho! Marietta is going down to the common room. I think that she’s going to leave again. Come on; we have to go see what she’s up to." 

 

Cho looked worried. She and Luna had been hoping to catch Marietta at something all week, but never were able to. Now she was sneaking out, and it was past curfew. Cho hesitantly closed the window and followed Luna down the hall. As the two girls descended the curving stairs, they saw four flashes in quick succession that looked as if someone was taking photos down stairs. They stayed around the corner out of sight. They could not see the people in the common room, but could hear them. Barely audible voices were heard down stairs, and Cho and Luna had to strain to listen to what was being said.

 

“…there is also a possibility that the headmaster is going to make an announcement tomorrow banning our information packets. And that he’s going to speak out against us. Professor Flitwick already told me that we’re forbidden from wearing our armbands. Marietta…what are we going to do?”  Cho recognized the voice.  It was Danielle.

 

“Don’t worry, Danielle. We already have the information passed to all the necessary students, and it was all part of the plan in the first place to take the movement underground. Now you see though how biased the headmaster is against us. This will be an example that we can point out about his favoritism to the Mudbloods. Do you see how he’s trying to keep the purebloods down? He’s a traitor to his own race,” Marietta said with a slight tone of anger.

 

“But poor Lori, having to spend four days detention with that slime of a teacher, because she implied that the headmaster was under Potter's control. It’s not fair,” Danielle complained.

 

“Of course, Danielle. That’s the whole point I was making about the Mudbloods trying to silence us. It's a plot they have been at for years, but soon things will turn in our favor. Caoimhe and Pollyanna have already agreed to take the pledge, and soon others will want to join us. By outlawing our literature, Dumbledork is only making it more appealing to purebloods. It’s like telling people not to push the proverbial red button. They can’t resist reading our stuff, even if they don’t agree with all of it,” Marietta finished.

 

“Yes, well, I’ll just be happy when our first Hogsmeade weekend gets here. Once we meet with Professor Watson, we can get an idea of what to do about the headmaster. How to get him out of our hair,” Danielle said.

 

“Yes, well… first things first.  Potter is our primary concern.  He is a danger to us, and we need to show the other students that he is a danger to them as well. Once their hero has fallen from grace _, again_ , we will have a free hand to take care of some of the undesirables in the school. I’ll finalize the plans for phase one tonight. I want everyone ready if their services need to be called on. They all have to be one hundred percent committed. There can be no turning back from this point. Are _you_ ready, Danielle, to do anything for the society and our race?” Marietta continued in a serious tone.

 

“I am Marietta. You know I am,” Danielle replied in a proud voice.

 

“Good! I have to go meet him now. I’ll fill you in on everything tomorrow. Have everyone meet at the usual place. We’ll wait until after Lori finishes her detention. I don’t want her to miss anything,” Marietta continued.

 

“Marietta, what about the ghosts? Are you sure your Memory Charm will work on them if you come across any of them?” Danielle asked nervously.

 

“Don’t need to give them a Memory Charm. I’ve got _this!_ ” Marietta said in a jovial tone. After a moment Danielle let out an excited yelp, that Marietta chastised her for.

 

“Shush. Be quiet, and don’t tell anyone, not even anyone in the society,” Marietta said.

 

“Can I try it on, Marietta?” Danielle pleaded. “I’ve never seen one before.”

 

“Danielle, it’s not to be used for our personal enjoyment. The note said not to play around with it. I have to go. Goodnight,” Marietta finished.

 

“Goodnight,” said Danielle. Cho and Luna heard footsteps coming back up the stairs and ran as quietly as possible back down the hall to Cho’s room. Cho peeked back around the edge of the door to see Danielle walk into her room alone at the opposite end of the hall. After a few minutes, Cho and Luna exited the room and sat in the hall so as not to disturb Cho’s roommates.

 

“I wonder what all that was about,” Luna said. 

 

Cho frowned.  “I don’t know, but it had something to do with Harry. And whatever Marietta is up to, I have a feeling there are more than just Danielle and Miss Parkinson involved. We have to find out who this Lori friend of hers is, and then we’ll at least know one more of her gang,” Cho said. 

 

Luna gave a slight smile.  “I think I know who that is. Ron told me about it today. Professor Sprout gave one of the Gryffindor girls detention for arguing with Harry yesterday. I think her name is Lori. I know what she looks like; I saw part of the argument yesterday, but I didn’t know it was with Harry until Ron told me today. Well, are we going, Cho?” Luna asked. 

 

Cho looked with her at a blank expression. “Going where?” she asked. 

 

Luna rolled her eyes.  “Why to follow Marietta, of course. This is what we’ve been waiting for,” Luna said. 

 

Cho thought for a minute, a worried look on her face.  “Well, how are we going to find her? And I mean, what if we get caught? It’s against the rules to be out past curfew. And I’m expecting an owl from Harry,” Cho continued nervously. 

 

Luna put a hand on her shoulder.  “Look Cho, I know how you are about breaking the rules, but this is about Harry. I mean you know how much Marietta hates him. What if she’s planning to hurt him?” she cautioned. 

 

The thought sent a shiver up Cho’s spine. Luna didn’t have to say anymore. The two of them headed off to the common room and noticed that the pictures were again frozen. After they exited the passage. Cho noticed that the outside painting was also frozen still. The two of them looked around. Marietta wasn’t in sight.

 

“We should have left earlier. Now she’s got a head start on us. I don’t even know where to start looking. Maybe the library,” Cho said in a worried tone.

 

“If we had left right after her, we would have run into Danielle. And you’re the only student who would go to the library at this hour, Cho. We're looking for a room that the ghosts usually don’t go to. Some place out of the way. Any ideas?”

 

Cho scratched her head, trying to think of an answer.  “Well… if I wanted to go to a place in the castle that no one else went to, then I’d choose the dungeon, on the side of the castle opposite of where the Slytherin’s living area is,”  Cho said, though she was still unsure. Luna nodded in agreement.

 

“Well what side do the Slytherins have their quarters on?” asked Luna. Cho gave a shrug. The exact location of the Slytherins quarters was a mystery to all but themselves. “Alright then, we’ll just have to look over the entire dungeon,” Luna said, assured she was making a wise decision.

 

“The entire dungeon? Tonight? Luna, Hogwarts is a big place; it would take us weeks. And how are we going to know the difference between a ghost-proof room, and a non-ghost-proof room. All walls are solid to us. And we can’t just go up to a ghost and ask them if they can help us look for the room. They would be obligated to report us for curfew violation,” Cho said. 

 

Luna lowered her eyes.  “You're right Cho. I guess I didn’t think about that. But what are we going to?” obviously disappointed. 

 

A tear fell out of Cho’s eye. “Oh Luna, I really am worried about Harry, but I know we’ll never be able to find Marietta tonight; we can’t search the dungeon. I failed Harry. I just wanted to help him, but I’m useless!” Cho cried, and Luna gave her a hug.

 

“Look Cho, we haven’t failed anyone. We know that Marietta is up to something, and we know at least three of her gang. We know that there is a ghost-proof room in this castle somewhere, and we can ask the Gray Lady to help us tomorrow when it’s not past curfew." 

 

Cho wiped her eyes. “You're right, Luna.   I… I’m sorry;  I just want to help Harry. I lost my head,” Cho said remorsefully. “Let's get back inside; this was a mistake.” 

  
  


Cho and Luna said the password in unison, but the portrait did not respond. They looked at each other with a horrified expression. With the portrait frozen, the two of them were trapped outside. Cho was about to suggest that they hide in a corner until Marietta got back, to unfreeze the portrait, when Filch was heard walking down the hall.

 

“Come on Luna!" Cho said nervously, "we have to keep moving. Mrs. Norris will be able to sniff us out.” 

  
  


Luna didn’t need telling twice, and she followed Cho in the opposite direction of Filch's footsteps.  After they were sure that they were out of earshot of anyone, Luna asked Cho where they should hide while they waited for Marietta to return from wherever she went.

 

“Well… how about the library?” Cho asked innocently. Luna rolled her eyes.

 

“Why did I even bother asking?” she said.

 

Cho and Luna spent their time in the library quietly poring over any books that might contain blueprints of Hogwarts, and especially ones for the dungeons, hoping to find a room that was out of the way.  A single lantern provided illumination. 

 

After a couple of hours Cho yawned and stretched. She was looking depressed.  “Wow, it’s amazing. I didn’t realize how many of these books I’ve already read,” Cho whispered. 

 

Luna just smiled at her.  “It’s not so amazing. You've been practically living here lately. And let's face it: you’ve always been a bookworm,” she joked.  

 

Cho’s eyes lowered. “Do you suppose he doesn’t like girls who study a lot? Cho asked. 

 

Luna looked confused (even more so than usual). “Who?” she asked.

 

“Well, Harry, of course. What do you think he likes in a girl. I mean you… talked to him more than I did last year. How should I act to get him to like me?” Cho asked. 

 

Luna gave her a pat on the shoulder.  “I think that you should be yourself,  Cho. I think that Harry will like you for who you are. Maybe you could be a little more outgoing like you were the year before last, but besides that, just be yourself.” 

 

Cho looked at her reflection in the glass of the lamp. “Well, I guess so,” Cho said weakly.

 

“Come on, we have to keep looking for a book that might hold a clue to this special room that Marietta was talking about,” Luna said as she took another handful of books off the shelf, and put it on the already cluttered table. Cho helped her sort them out, and they each started on a separate book about Hogwarts. It was amazing how many books there were,  mostly yearbooks going back  hundreds of years. On one page of a yearbook from thirty years ago, Cho and Luna found a picture of Marietta’s mum, who had been a student in Ravenclaw during her time in Hogwarts. Cho and Luna read on with interest in this particular book. It seemed that Marietta’s mum was popular in her day, being on the student council, and being a part of several clubs and societies. As Cho read Luna tapped her on the shoulder.

 

“Um, Cho. I have to go to the bathroom. Stay here, and keep the door locked, until I get back. I’ll give three raps on the door when I come back, so you’ll know it’s me. If you need to go next, I’ll do the same. But I think it’s safer if we go one at a time." Cho nodded and let Luna out, telling her to be careful.

 

Cho went back to her seat and continued reading over the yearbook with Marietta’s mum in it. She was in many pictures, as she seemed to have garnered a lot of awards and recognitions. Cho could see why she was in Ravenclaw. She remembered seeing some of them adorn the walls of Marietta’s house when Cho used to visit there. Cho turned another page to see Marietta’s mum in a picture with several other girls and boys in front of a flag with a teardrop on it. It was in black and white, so Cho could not  tell the colors of the flag, but the wizards and witches were all smiling and moving around in a jovial fashion. 

  
  


One witch in front had her hand on a book and looked to be taking an oath to a young wizard in a top hat. The caption read: "Members of the Society of Truth, Uniformity, Purity, Intellectualism and Domination, enjoy their annual banquet and swearing in the Hogwarts Auxiliary Building." Cho then noticed a clipping of newspaper folded up at the center of the page. She unfolded it and began to read. “Hogwarts Auxiliary Building Burns Down in Mysterious Fire." And the sub-head ran: "No Fatalities, but  Arson Suspected".  She started to look at the article.  

  
  


Rap, rap, rap! Cho jumped at the sound of the noise, she put her hand to her heart as it skipped a beat. She put the piece of newspaper in her pocket and went to the door and let Luna in.

 

“Did you find anything out?” Luna asked. 

 

Cho nodded.  “Look let's get these books back on the shelves and clean up a bit. Maybe the paintings are set right again, and Filch is in another part of the castle. I’ll tell you about what I found tomorrow, at lunch.” Cho said. 

 

Luna nodded, but put in a condition. “Only if you’re not thinking of taking lunch in the library.” Luna smiled. Cho nodded with a smile and picked up the yearbook to take with her.

 

“What’s this, Miss Chang? Taking out a library book without permission? Shame on you!” Luna whispered. 

 

Cho had a look of guilt on her face, and seemed as if she wanted to put it back.

 

“I’m just kidding, Cho. Good grief, lighten up. Look, it’s to help Harry, right?” Luna smiled.

 

“Yes, it really is,” Cho whispered.

 

“And you intend to bring it back when you’re done, right?” Luna continued. Cho nodded sincerely. Luna gave her a pat on the back.

 

“Then let’s go, you wild, reckless, and crazy rebel you,” Luna said jokingly. The two stopped off at the girl’s lavatory, ignoring their previous decision to go one at a time, and continued back to the North Tower from there. Cho couldn’t help but feel a little adventurous at sneaking around at night, past curfew.


	20. Chapter 20: Final Preparations

 

 Vodkaholic: Thanks for telling me how to view my hits. :) 

            

 

**Chapter 20: Final Preparations**

The unseen figure walked quietly down the torch lit halls of the great castle, past shiny suits of armor, and empty classrooms. Marietta Edgecombe was hidden under the Invisibility Cloak that she had received from the society by way of her uncle. The cloak had come with a note warning her that it was only a loan to be used for society business only, and not her own personal entertainment. The note had further instructed that Marietta should tell no other student in the society about it as well. 

“Humph…well. I know I can trust Danielle, at least, to keep a secret,” Marietta thought to herself. 

Marietta walked down the hall at a quick pace, but stopped suddenly when she saw the image of the Fat Friar floating through the wall on her left. She held her breath as he passed by close enough for her to reach out and touch him. Marietta finally let out a sigh after the ghost had passed through the wall on the opposite side of her. She made her way through several twisting mazes of dungeons, and entered a narrow corridor lit with torches and lined with more suits of amour along it. 

She almost let out a shriek when she saw eight house-elves marching two abreast in two columns of four toward her from the opposite end of the corridor. The corridor was so narrow that she had to squeeze against the wall by one of the suits of amour to get out of their way. As the column passed her one of the house elves at the end glanced her way and came to a slow stop, letting the rest of the column continue down the hall without him. He seemed to be peering right in Marietta’s direction. She began to sweat from fear and anticipation of being caught. 

Marietta wanted to reach for her wand and give the stupid thing the _Avada Kedavra_ curse, but she dared not move a centimeter. The house-elf walked closer but appeared to be looking slightly to her left, at the suit of amour. Marietta turned her head to look at it as well, and she could not see why it was drawing the house-elf’s attention. It was just an ordinary suit of amour, holding a double edged axe in its hands. She heard a snap, and the suit of amour began to glow pink. The glow vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and when it did the suit seemed cleaner, as if it had been freshly polished. The house-elf turned back toward the direction that Marietta had come from and hurried to rejoin its mates, already out of sight.

Marietta breathed another sigh of relief and headed back down the corridor. She continued through several passageways and empty rooms until she had reached an empty room lit by a single torch. Under the torch was a single gray round rock, midway up the wall, with a black drop painted on it. Under the wall was a deep depression in the floor about one meter across. Marietta looked around to be sure she was alone, and then physically pushed the stone in. The wall melted down as if it were made of wax, but it did not cover the floor, but instead, was collected in the depression in the floor, underneath it. 

Finally the door had melted away entirely, except for the stone with the drop on it that was suspended in midair by magic. Marietta stepped across the depression into the smallest corridor she had yet encountered. She turned back around and pushed the stone in the other direction, and the wall melted back upward from the depression, and blocked out all light into the corridor. 

“ _Lumos_!” Marietta said, and her wand light showed a very narrow and long passage ahead of her. She made quick speed to arrive at the other end, where the passage ended in a solid black wall of rock. This time she pushed against the wall, and it opened as a door.

“Who is it? Who’s there?” The nervous voice of Filch came from inside.

“ **Booo! I’m the ghost known as the Gray Lady of Ravenclaw! And I’ve found your hiding place!” c** ame a deep spoken voice as the wall closed, and no one appeared in sight.

“Damn! It can’t be!” cried Filch. 

Marietta gave out a sinister laugh as she pulled off her Invisibility Cloak. She gave him a sensual smile.“Don’t worry love.  It isn’t. I told you the ghosts will never find this place, and I also told you that I was going to have the society send me an Invisibility Cloak, remember?” She laughed. 

Filch, grabbed her and pinned her against the wall hard. 

“Ow!” She cried.

“ **I don’t find anything _funny_ about this! Do you know what it’s like to be this stupid git or his flea bitten cat all day? It’s torture!” ** he yelled.

 Marietta had a look of fear in her eyes.  “You’re…you’re hurting me, love. Please stop,” she pleaded. 

Filch let her go and turned and walked away from her.“You can’t imagine the torture. I can’t imagine how Filch does his job without magic! This bladder infection has me going to the pisser every fifteen minutes. You’d think he’d go to Madam Pomfrey for it. And that bloody cat of his. Hasn’t he ever heard of flea dip?” Filch asked. 

Marietta hugged him from behind.“I told you that you needed to find a replacement that we could keep down here. How is that coming?” she asked.  

Filch turned to her.  “I think I found someone that will be to your liking. And if so, I want him here as soon as possible.  Then you will not have to worry about zapping your dear uncle with a Memory Charm every night. But first we have business to discuss and what to do about the head master… and Potter,” he said.

Marietta sat down on the corner of the bed, and kicked her shoes off.  “Don’t worry about the headmaster for now.  He’ll have to be allowed to continue his annoying ways for a short time, but Potter has to be dealt with tomorrow! I’m going to zap him with a Memory Charm at some point. He’ll feel the need to go to the Quidditch pitch early, even if it means skipping a class. I’ll hide the body under the Invisibility Cloak, and you need to remove the cloak when you’re done, so that his team can find him. Remember, as we discussed in my dear uncle’s office today, I want you to work hard to convince Gryffindor to play a violent game, and try to skirt around the rules, but encourage them not to break them unless they’re _sure_ that they can get away with it. I found out that Madam Hooch will not be refereeing the game, but someone from my house, Jeremy Stretton. I toyed with the idea of giving him a Memory Charm, but I need his mind clear so that he can retell the story of what a cheat and bad sport Potter is, and how he used his team to bully poor Hufflepuff in the field. Just remember to turn back into Mrs. Norris when you’re done, and get the hell out of there,” Marietta said, giving the final details of an already laid out plan. “Anything new to report about Chang?” she asked with curiosity?

 Filch had a frown on his face.“She was talking to Potter and the Gray Lady today. I don’t know what about. How did the insult go? Did she cry?” Filch asked.

 Marietta had a pissed off look on her face, and she crossed her arms. “It didn’t have the effect I was hoping for, and I’m sure that I said it right. What do you suggest I do now?” Marietta asked. 

Filch rubbed his chin.  “Actually now I was going to suggest that you target her friends for abuse as well, and then after that, offer her a truce: if she’ll go to the society’s meeting at Hogsmeade in October, you, and the other purebloods will leave her and her friends alone. Once she sees what she has to gain by joining, she’s sure to switch sides. Also, since you’re so well connected, you might throw in a job offer at the Ministry when she graduates, as an added incentive. Who are some of her friends that you can pick on—her best friends?” he asked. 

Marietta closed her eyes in thought.  “Well there is Beverly Jones, but she’s really tough. I don’t want to mess with her.  Then there is Luna Lovegood. She’s a pureblood, but really stupid. I don’t like her, so I have no problem messing with her. Err…Nancy Cromwell; she’s a mudblood, and Bill Forbs, a fourth year Hufflepuff.  He’s a dork and doesn’t have many friends. He wouldn’t have had any if it hadn’t been for Cho, so it will be easy to hurt him.” The only problem is if Cho is pushed too far by way of attacking her friends, she can be violent. I learned that the hard way in my fifth year,” Marietta finished. 

Filch raised an eyebrow.  “Really? What did she do?” he asked curiously.

 Marietta frowned.  “I don’t like to talk about it, but it almost got her expelled.  So, I want to hurt her, but I don’t want to make her so mad that she goes off on me. It’s a delicate balance. Anyway, Like I said, the great thing is that Potter has already started our work for us, with the attack on poor Draco and his friends.  So getting him to go off on other students will be just a continuation of that event. Last year the papers didn’t have any instances of him going off on anyone to print.  This year Potter is going to Azkaban for _murder.”_ Marietta said with an evil grin creeping across her face at the thought. “Now I want you to carefully select when to go off own another student whenever you’re replacing Potter. If you just go berserker on everyone, the headmaster will know something’s up. Just react to any taunting, and to any slight joke about Potter, no matter how innocent. Also he has a brilliant friend named Ronald Weasley. At least his brothers are brilliant. He’s a pureblood, so you need to probe Potter’s mind carefully every so often to be able to talk with him,” Marietta finished. She gave Filch a filirtatious look. “Now tell me love, who have you got in mind to replace yourself with?” 

Filch sat beside her.“His name is Seamus Finnegan, and I think you’ll find he meets your requirements. I think he’s a pureblood, and, shall we say, _gifted in certain areas._ He’s also Potter’s roommate.” Filch said.”

“Yuck!” Marietta said with a sour expression on her face. “The poor boy. They are not friends are they?” she asked. 

Filch smiled.  “ _Not for much longer._ But there is another problem. I can’t sleep in the Gryffindor dorms, and it’s going to make someone suspicious.”

“Why not love? I’m sure that they will not notice any change in his behavior when he’s asleep.” Marietta put in.

“I can’t keep his form when I’m asleep, and his roommates are sure to notice what’s in his bed in the morning if I’m not the first one up. Another thing is that I need to move my things out of here, if we’re going to keep him in here. I can’t sleep in here either, and that leaves only one place,” he finished, leaving Marietta to deduce the answer. 

She thought for a minute, and it came to her.  “Uncle Filch’s quarters.  You poor dear,” she said.

“Yes, I’ll need him to help me move everything tomorrow night. The good news is that Filch and his stupid cat, are usually out prowling at night. I’m sure that he’ll be happy to finally let his cat out of the office. She escaped the other day for a short time, but he quickly recovered her. Anyway it’s a good thing that his office is attached to his quarters, so it will be convenient to enter, but I’m worried that I will be spotted by the ghost going into his office every night. They hang around there so often. Still I’ll have to wait until he shoos them away. I’m not sure how I’m going to explain to the others in the room why, I’m sneaking out every night.” 

Marietta smiled.  “Well, you’ll just have to tell them that your going to meet a hot sexy Ravenclaw girl every night for an intimate encounter, and make them jealous,” she said. “But the question is how I am going to get him down here. I can’t Stun him; I would have to drag the body all the way down here. And getting Filch to help is out of the question.  He would never agree to keep a pureblood boy in captivity. After I give him a Memory Charm, I can just say that I’ve been given instructions from the society to have you sleep in his quarters, to be away from Potter, and that we sent the real Seamus Finnegan home to take private instruction from a society tutor. I’ll tell him that Finnegan and his family are in the society, and that it was agreed upon by Professor Watson, and they told me to tell Uncle Filch, and that he was to give you every courtesy. That’s the beauty of me being the one in charge of this operation; my dear uncle has to do everything I say in regards to the society’s business. Also since the society sends most messages directly to me, I see more classified documents than Uncle Filch. Anyway I’ll have him bring enough food, and water down here for a couple of months, and toiletry items as well. Finnegan needs to have access to good hygiene, so that you can be healthy too.” Marietta finished with “But still the question remains: how do we get him down here? I don’t want to use the _Imperius_ Curse. I have a feeling that somehow the headmaster will find out,” she said. 

Filch gave a sensual smile.“Well if I can become him tonight, and you can have sex with me, he’ll dream about it tomorrow night. If you’re really wild, he’ll remember it well. And you can bring him down here with the promises of the real thing later. But not too much later,” he finished. 

Marietta thought for a moment.  “Be ready to receive him on Saturday, I’ll convince him to come down here then.” Marietta stood up and began to undress, as Filch melted into a clear bubble, and reformed into Seamus Finnegan. 

When she was done, she pushed him hard onto the bed, and gave a seductive smile. “Hello, Seamus Finnegan. I’m Marietta Edgecombe, and _I’m going to rock your world!”_ she said intimately, as she climbed up on him.

~*~

Cho and Luna, had been waiting behind a suit of armor for Marietta to get back and activate the painting. They were in the dark, and remained perfectly still, until they jumped at the sound of Filch shouting.“ **There you are! What are you doing out of bed?”** he yelled. 

Cho and Luna were horrified. He was coming in their direction, and they were frozen in fear. It looked like this was the end, but Filch walked right past them, the shadow of the suit of armor hiding them from the light of Filch’s lamp. Cho and Luna peered around the suit to see who Filch was shouting at. It was Marietta. 

She looked at Filch defiantly.“What do you think, _dear uncle_ ; I’m out on society business, laying out the final plans,” Marietta said. 

Cho and Luna looked at each other and both mouthed the words _dear uncle_ at each other in disbelief.

Filch gave her a nasty look. “Well when do you think that the plans will be finished? Poor Mrs. Norris needs to be let out of the office; she hasn’t been out but for a few minutes since two weeks before school, the poor dear.” Filch said. 

Marietta gave him a sly smile.  “Well if you love the stupid cat so much, then why don’t you get her a flea collar, or a flea dip, or something. Why don’t you also go to Madam Pomfrey for that bladder infection.  Afraid of a little urinary charm?” Marietta asked sarcastically.

“Don’t you be smart with me, _dear niece_. Why the society put you in charge of everything over me I have no idea. I’ve been here for over forty years, and you’re just a little girl,” he said. 

Marietta gave him a dirty look.  “I’m in charge here because this whole thing is my grand design. Also you’re a Squib, and although pure blood runs through your veins.  It takes a magic user to handle something this important. And I’m no longer a little girl but a full grown woman now. I’m seventeen. So don’t come to me with that little girl stuff. Just do your job, and things are going to get a lot better for you around here. I know how anxious you are to get back to torturing students, and I’m going to be the one to help you in that. Now, tomorrow we have some things to discuss. They include you finally being able to let Mrs. Norris out of the office, and coming up with some non-perishable foods, enough for a couple of months,” she finished. 

Filch allowed himself a smile.  “ **You mean I can really let her roam free again?”** he asked, excited. 

“Of course.  He only needed her for temporary use, but you have to do everything I say without question.  It is for the good of the wizarding world. Now remember. You took the oath. You can never go back on It.” she said.  

Filch nodded his head.  “I know.  I understand.  It’s just that… why do you need to have such a large supply of non-perishable food? he asked. 

Marietta rolled her eyes.  “Didn’t I just say to do everything I say without question? Don’t worry about things that don’t concern you. _Just follow orders!_ Goodnight, dear uncle,” she finished, and gave the charm to reverse the freezing effect on the painting.  The soldier and the woman moved and asked for the password as if nothing had happened.  Marietta gave it, and went through the passage. 

Filch gave a dirty look toward the area that Marietta had disappeared to.“Goodnight _dear niece_!” he said in a sarcastic tone and left towards the stairs that led to the dungeon.

Cho and Luna waited for a few minutes before approaching the painting. When they did it, the woman asked them for their password. Cho looked at her watch and then up at them and asked if they remembered anything between the hours of twelve and now, which was four thirty. They said that they didn’t keep track of time, but that Cho and Luna had better remember the password if they wanted to get inside. Luna gave it, and they walked inside, very tired from being up all night. They agreed to discuss what had happened, but decided not to do it at lunch, but somewhere that they could keep it private. After thinking awhile, they finally decided to work out the mystery in Cho’s dorm room, as she was sure that she could trust everyone there. The two hugged each other and left to sleep in their separate dorm rooms.  They would have plenty to talk about tomorrow. 

As Cho fell asleep she had horrible dreams again and was restless, hearing Harry’s angry words from last year…“ **Don’t you start crying again…Don’t you start crying again… Don’t you start crying again.”** Then she dreamed of being with Harry at Hogsmeade last year. Um… hey… listen. Cho…I’ve got to meet another girl…another girl…another girl…” and then finally, the worst dream, Harry being tortured by the _Crucio_ Curse.” 

She had a restless few hours of sleep before Erica woke her up.“Come on Cho! You’re going to be late,” she said. Cho felt as if she had only been asleep for a few minutes and knew her eyes were bloodshot.” She dressed quickly and ran downstairs quickly, filing out with the rest of the Ravenclaw students. Cho spied Marietta looking equally tired and also with bloodshot eyes, exiting out the door.  

 


	21. Chapter 21: Fridays Breakfast.

  


**Chapter 21: Fridays Breakfast.**

Cho and Luna sat at the Ravenclaw table together at breakfast trying to keep each other awake. Their little adventure the night before had cost them valuable rest, and now they were both paying for it. They had been at the table for about fifteen minutes when the owls came flying in from the roof with the student’s mail. One Brown barn owl dropped three letters, and a package, in front of Cho, and a gray one dropped a letter and an article of the Quibbler in front of Luna. Luna opened the letter to her and read it carefully. Cho looked at her blurry eyed, and asked what the letter said in a sleepy monotone voice. Luna looked at her happily.

“It’s from dad! He asks what we thought of the Crumple Horned Snorack. Today is our first care of magical creature’s class. I’ll be able to right him back tonight. I can’t wait! Luna said. Cho’s stomach churned. Could she really go through with this? Maybe she should tell Luna the truth. Maybe she should not make herself look bad in front of everyone else, and make an excuse that she was feeling sick, and not show up. No! How could you even think like that Cho told herself. It’s your duty to back Luna up. Who cares what other people think of you. You can’t disappoint Luna, everyone’s going to be laughing at her, and you have to be there for her and tell everyone you see it too. Cho looked at her book for Care of Magical Creatures class, and read the title “Walking with Giants.” There was nothing she could do but dread the coming of the class. Cho looked for Harry at the Gryffindor table, and spotted Marietta speaking to a Gryffindor girl with black hair, and olive skin. She gave Luna a poke in the ribs to get her attention.

“Luna, is that that Lori something or other that is with Marietta?” Cho asked. Luna looked in the direction that Cho was pointing, and nodded.

“Yea that’s her, she’s got four days detention from Professor… **Yawn!**... Sprout.” Luna said, weakly. Luna than looked at Cho. “Um hey Cho, aren’t you going to open your letters?” she asked anxious to hear from Cho’s cousins. Luna didn’t know a lot about the Muggle world, and Cho had shared her letters with her cousin lately with Luna. Cho opened the first one, read it and showed it to Luna. It was from Cho’s cousins.

**_Dear Cho,_ **

**_What’s up with keeping us in the dark about you and Potter, was their really something going on between the two of you last year? You just have to tell us, or else well write your friend Beverly Jones. She seemed really anxious to tell anyone who would listen about it. I can’t believe you would keep something this important from your own family. Shame on you! Did you and Potter do any snogging last year? Did he really cheat on you on your first date! I thought he was a great guy; you always spoke so highly of him. We both know that you still like him, and we hope that you two can work things out. There is not much going on here, now, but dad says we may take a trip across the channel to Europe one weekend. Not to France I hope though, those people are so stuck up! I would much rather go to Spain and see the running of the bulls, from a safe distance of coarse ;) or some traditional Spanish Dancing like we saw on the telly this summer. We went to see Aunt Chi yesterday, and she’s talking now. She says she’s in a lot of pain from the chemo, but I think it’s best if your dad writes you about that. We both know that she’s going to get better Cho. It’s just a matter of time. Keep your chin up. Well write us back soon, and if you could possible… get Harry Potter’s autograph for us._ **

_**Love your cousins,** _

**_The notorious Sally and Ling:D_ **

Luna’s eyes went wide. You know I think I remember something about you and Harry and a date last year, but I can’t bring it to mind. Did he really dump you fifteen minutes into the date to go see another girl? That doesn’t sound like him at all Cho.” Luna said in a tired voice. Cho lowered her head.

“It… doesn’t matter. I… he likes me now, and maybe we can salvage what we might have had. Besides, I… I probably was boring him. He probably has been with a lot of girls, and I’m not very special. But than again he was looking for me at every meal. Oh Luna I hope he likes me. I’m worried I’m going to do something wrong.” Cho stated. Luna gave her a comforting look.

“Cho… I told you, just be yourself. Harry will like you for who you are, because you’re a really good person, and so is he.” Luna said. She than looked at Cho’s package. “Who’s that one from?” She asked. Cho looked down at the package, and tore open it open. It was a large leather bound book, with a letter attached. Cho read the title, “ **Ancient Goblin to English.”** Cho opened the book; it was very hard for her to read even a little, with strange symbols, and drawings on one side and the English translation on the other. Her father had learned how to read and write ancient Goblin because a few of his clients preferred that to the more traditional simplified form that was most popular. Cho had learned a little herself, but was nowhere near as good as her father. She read the note that was attached.

**_Miss Chang,_ **

**_Since the useless facility of your school hasn’t had the foresight to teach ancient Goblin or even simplified Goblin to you and your fellow students, I have sent you this book to start you on your way to better learning the most civilized language in the world. I hope you will get some use out of it. It certainly cost me enough, and as your father has been doing an adequate job here, I thought that you might consider a position with Gringots as well. But don’t think I’m making any kind of offer. I’m just saying that if you learn Goblin you might possibly be barely qualified for a job. I hope you don’t waste your time at school this year. I’m sure that you don’t want to disappoint you father by wasting his money from his overpaid salary. Study the book if you want to get ahead in life._ **

_**Good day Miss Chang.** _

Luna gave a disgusted grunt at reading the letter. “What rude people these goblins are! I’ve never heard a more hateful letter in my life.” She said. Cho gave a weak smile, and turned to Luna.

“Well actually Luna, it was kind of complimentary. It’s in the nature of Goblins to be rude, even when they mean to be nice. By saying that dad is doing an adequate job, he’s actually saying that dad is doing a great job, and by suggesting that I might be barely qualified, he’s saying that I would probably be good. You’ll never hear a direct kind word from a goblin Luna. Luna gave a nod of understanding.

“That’s weird Cho. But I guess it’s their culture. Who’s the last letter from?” She asked.

“Cho opened the last letter and read it to herself, and tears started to stream down her face as she reached the end.

**_Dearest Cho,_ **

**_How have you been doing at school? I hope that your marks are improving over last year, and that you’re able to concentrate this year. Remember your mother and I are counting on you to do well. You’re the first Chang to go to Hogwarts, and I want you to bring honor to the family. It would make us look very bad If we had a daughter that had to take a summer course to make up, and miss walking down the isle at graduation. Also it would be worse to have to tell the other Wizards, and Witches in Motherwell that our daughter had her wand broken because she couldn’t pass school, and didn’t even make high enough marks to finish school in a summer course. Look, I’m not trying to bring you down, just to remind you that school is important, and that the family saving face is important. I know that it’s the most important thing to your mother that you graduate this year._ **

**_Works been very hard and the hours long, but I’m doing a good job if I do say so myself, and I think that the Goblins are noticing. Maybe I will get a raise, or promotion, but to be honest, I would rather have a couple of days off as opposed to either one. Still, it’s rewarding enough to know I’m making a difference at work._ **

**_Now, I have some bad news for you Cho. I wish we had phones in the Wizarding world, because than I could tell you in real time, and express the emotion that I need to convey to you. Dr. Gardiah has run some more test and found that your mother has some small tumors on her left breast that will require more chemo, and radiation, and a longer stay in hospital. I had hoped to bring her back to the flat this month, but I know that the doctor knows best. Cho I wish that we could go back to the way that things were before. I wish that we could visit China again next year. Do you remember the last time we went? You were only thirteen, and we all had a great time. I’ve never seen you so excited, wanting to see every part of the country, and watching listening to you and your mum talking about seeing the Water Dragons with such excitement. I’ve never seen you two so happy. I think that was your best day together._ **

**_Listen Cho, Chi will get better, and we will go back to China and see the Water Dragons again. She told me to tell you that she wants to do that with you as soon as she is better. We will go there for your graduation this summer, so study hard._ **

_**Love,** _

_**Dad** _

**_P.S. Remember not to talk about this to anyone, as it’s a private family affaire._ **

Luna looked at the tears, which Cho tried to wipe away from her face with great concern. “What’s wrong Cho?” What does the letter say?” Cho looked at Luna, and tried to speak.

“It says… it says...” Cho stammered out, but couldn’t finish. She lowered her head, and put it in her folded arms. “I’ll tell… you later Luna.” She finished. Luna guessed that it was about Cho’s mother, but knew that Cho wanted to wait and talk about it later. It made her sad to see her good friend so distraught about something, but Cho had always been so emotionally fragile. Life never seemed to give Cho a break, and Luna knew that she desperately needed one.

Further down the table Marietta had just returned to her seat, next to Danielle and Eric Stanton, a seventh year Ravenclaw boy who had helped pass out leaflets the other day and was annoyed at not being able to wear his arm band. Danielle was holding his hand under table. Marietta was leaning her head to look at Cho. She smiled as she saw Cho with tears in her eyes. “I wonder what she’s crying about now.” She said. Danielle rolled her eyes.

“Hump! Who knows, she cries about everything. Probably about that dead half-blood boyfriend of hers. Or maybe because she still misses Potter or maybe because she’s breathing.” Danielle laughed.

“She always was emotionally weak, even before Diggory died. That’s why she befriends so many mud-bloods, because she can’t do anything right, like chose the right friends. Weak!” Marietta said, her smile widening even more.

“What do you want us to do about Potter? I mean when do you want us to get him alone.” Eric asked quietly. Marietta looked around to make sure that they were surrounded by like minded people, and leaned forward.

“Pansy Parkinson is going to skip class next period. I checked and Potter has Defense Against Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs then. It’s taught by my favorite, and his least favorite teacher, Professor Snape. She will wait in the hall for a short time, and go inside and tell Professor Snape that Potter’s presents is requested by Filch. Pansy has a note to make it official. Potter and Professor Snape don’t like each other, so they will happy to be rid of each others company. She will convince him to go down to the third floor girl’s lavatory, the one that’s out of order. Oliver Skint and you and I will be waiting for him. We don’t need to keep him there but for a minute to do what we have to, but since it will be during class no one should be in the halls. I asked Pansy to avoid going by Filche’s office because it’s now a _“haunt”_ quite literally for the ghost. Once were done with him in the bathroom just go back to class and make up a lame excuse as to your absence, or go to your dorm rooms and say that you weren’t feeling well. But don’t tell anyone what happened, even another member of the society. We have to keep secretes even from ourselves if all is to go to plan. But I mean it when I say _forget about everything you did today after you do it._

“Moaning Myrtle, the ghost that haunts the girls bathroom will rat us out when she sees what were up to.” Danielle said concerned. Marietta tossed her head.

“Leave that to me. I have also anticipated that little detail in advance. Just do your job, when he gets there, and we’ll have Potter out of this school and in Irons in Azkaban in good time.” Marietta smiled.

Meanwhile over at the Gryffindor table Ron and Harry were eating at the end of the table closest to the Masters, without Hermione, who was at the end closest to the exit to the Great Hall. Harry looked at Ron with a worried expression on his face.

“Err… look Ron can’t you two talk this out? It feels really awkward. We’ve all been friends since we got here, and now… well it just doesn’t feel right.” Harry finished. Ron gave a sigh.

“Look Harry, _I_ don’t have a problem here. This is all Hermione. She was the one who chose not to sit next to us, and she’s the one who chooses not to speak to me. She’ being a baby, and I’m not going to reward her bad behavior by caving in. Now she’s quite welcome to come and sit next to us if she bloody well pleases, but I’m not going to give her any invitation while she’s acting like this. I want to date other girls, and I have plenty of time to date her. I don’t think that I’m doing anything wrong. If were truly meant to be together, and I believe that we are, than this will all pass. I just want to have some fun and not feel weighed down. Like I said… we have all the time in the world. Ron finished casually. Harry nodded.

“I guess your right. It’s just that… I don’t know. I thought that since you two had never really dated that you might give it a try. But I understand about wanting to taste the spices of life first. So I thought about making plans to reserve the pitch at four on Saturday, what do you think Ron?” Harry asked.

“Err… do you think that you can make it at five Harry? I’m on the Yule Ball committee tomorrow, and we won’t be out until four thirty.” He said. Harry gave a raised eyebrow.

“What… why are you on that?” He asked more than a little surprised. Ron turned a little red.

“Well… Luna is on the committee, and she thought that it would be a great way to spend time together. Also there will be no teachers, so you know, maybe we could find a quite place, and kiss. I’ve never been kissed before, I mean except for Padma on the train platform, and that was on the cheek. Harry smiled.

“Okay Ron. I see your point. Just remember that Quiddich comes first, don’t let the Yule Ball get in the way of it. But I don’t know how you’re going to stand all that girly stuff.” Harry joked. Ron gave a cheerful shrug. “Look, I’m going to invite Hermione over here. I’m sure she’s just waiting for a friendly invitation that’s all.” Harry said. **“Hey Hermione.”** Harry shouted. **“Hermione!”** Harry waved franticly at her, until he got her attention. She looked at him with a blank expression on her face, and Harry motioned for her to sit with him. She looked over at Ron, sitting next to Harry and then back to Harry himself shook her head, and motioned for him to come and sit by her. Harry looked at Ron. “I’ll be right back. Maybe I can get her to join us.” Harry said. Ron frowned.

“Well don’t tell her that I’m sorry or anything. But yea I want her to join us.” Ron said. Harry nodded, and went over to where Hermione was sitting with Katie Bell, and Brad Beck. Harry sat next to Hermione.

“Look Hermione, why don’t you come and sit with Ron and I. We both want your company.” Harry said. Hermione gave him a quizzical look. Is Ron ready to apologize and commit to me?” she asked.

“Err… well no, but he wants you to sit next to us as well.” Harry stated.

“Well you can tell him that until he is ready to apologize that I have no desirer to be near him. How can he do this to me?” Hermione asked. Harry shrugged.

“Look Hermione, I don’t think that he’s trying to do anything to you. He just wants to take it slow for a while. Why don’t you agree to go to the first Hogsmead weekend with him, he really wants to go with you.” Harry said hopeful that the two of them would make up. Hermione shook her head.

“No Harry, Ron doesn’t care about my feelings, and I’m not going to be his sometimes girlfriend. When he grows up, and decides to be with me exclusively than I’ll forgive him.” She finished.

“Okay, I tried.” Harry capitulated. He started to get up.

“Harry! This doesn’t affect us. I mean you and me, were still cool. So if you need any help with your Defense Against Dark Arts homework just let me know.” Hermione said. Harry turned back to her.

“Well I think Ron could use some help. He was up with it all last night. Maybe you could…”

“It’s to late now Harry. It’s due last period. I would have to write it during lunch. He should have come to me before now. Maybe this will teach him a lesson and he will come back to me.” Hermione interrupted him. Harry nodded.

“Okay Hermione. I’ll see you in class. I hope that you two will work this out.” Harry said and returned to his spot next to Ron. Ron looked at him.

“Well? What did she say?” He asked anxious.

“She wants you to apologize, and commit to her exclusively, and than she will talk to you.” Harry said. Ron gave a discussed look.

“Hump. Well she’ll have a long wait. I haven’t done anything wrong.” He said. Harry heard a loud clinging as Dumbledore at the masters table hit a spoon against his glass, cleared his throat, and stood up ready to give a speech.

“ **Attention everyone! Your attention please!” He started.**


	22. Chapter  22  Care of Magical Creatures

 

 

Vodkaholic: Thanks for the reviews. I'm mostly without internet now, so priorty goes to getting the chapters out. I'll try and give you better edited ones from now on. BUt my time on line is very limited. 

    Hope you like this chapter. 

          Cheers,

               Highice007 

Chapter [**21  Care of Magical Creatures**](http://astele.co.uk/UnknowableRoom/Chapter/Details/viewstory.php?sid=3928&chapter=21)

  
“ **Your attention please!”** said Dumbledore.

 The Great Hall grew quiet, and every head turned to the headmaster of Hogwarts. Dumbledore looked over all the students for a moment, and then spoke. “Thank you. Today I would like to talk about pride. Now it has come to my attention that some hateful literature was passed out in the Great Hall yesterday in the form of pamphlets that promote the idea of pureblood superiority and discrimination against students who are not pureblooded.  As we have not had any written material like this passed out any time since I have been headmaster at this school, we really didn’t have any rule against it as of yesterday. Therefore, no student who was passing out such written material will face disciplinary action. However, last night, the rest of the teachers and I drafted a new official rule that states that any material handed out from now on must be approved by the staff beforehand.  I know that many students were raised to be proud of their magical heritage, and there is nothing wrong with that. Students should be proud of that, just as students that are half-blooded and Muggle-born should be proud of their heritage. The reason for this is because where we come from is a part of who we are. We are proud to be citizens of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, proud to be from our respective commonwealths in these great islands, and proud of our family histories. We are also very fortunate nations to have such diverse groups of people, whose heritages come from all over the globe. That is reflected in the students of this school.  Where we come from is something that we should _all_ be proud of. 

"But there is something else that we should all be proud of as well. No matter where our ancestors come from, and no matter what our magical heritage is, we must remember two things. The first thing is that we are all magic users, and because of this, everyone of you here, in both this school and in the larger wizarding world, have a right to be here. It doesn’t matter whether both your parents are magic users or only one of your parents is a magic user or neither of them are magic users. By your very ability to use magic, you have every right to be here, and no one should tell you any differently. 

"Now there is another thing that we should be proud of. The Muggle world and the wizarding world are two very different places… culturally speaking. And culture is another thing that people can be proud of. We purebloods and Muggleborns come from two different worlds, but at the end of the day, we must remember that we are citizens of the greatest nation in the world, the United Kingdom. Our citizenship is what unites us all together in the common cause of being freedom-loving people. Look around you at your fellow students right now. Everyone here is a national of these islands. Maybe we were not all born here, but every one of us shares the brotherhood of being a citizen of the British Isles. That is something to be proud of.”  

Dumbledore grew quiet for a minute, and when he next spoke his voice seemed sterner. “But there are some beliefs that we should not hold,” he said and held up one of the pink flyers that Marietta and her friends had passed out the day before. “And one of these beliefs is the belief that any of us are better than anyone else because of our magical lineage. No one here is better than anyone else merely because their parents were both from a magical family that could be traced back a long way. Being from such a family doesn’t make any student better than a half-blood student, or a Muggleborn student. In fact, no student’s heritage alone makes them better than anyone else. For, although where we come from and where we are, are important factors in making us who we are, the most important thing is what we do with ourselves. By that I mean what our **_intentions_** are. We all need to seek to make this world a better place, and prejudice is not a way to make the world better, only worse. Hate is a hurtful thing, and I do not tolerate my students being hurt, so I have one important thing to tell all of you. Racist material will not be allowed to be distributed at Hogwarts. The grace period of the handing out of such filthy literature is over as of now, and any student caught handing it out from now on will be suspended for two weeks. Any further attempts to hand out such hate-filled material upon the students' return will be cause for expulsion. I hope that that is clear. I will not tolerate such filth at my school. 

"Now there is one more issue for the day. It has come to my attention that a seminar is to take place at Hogsmeade during the first weekend trip. This seminar is based on the belief that Purebloods are better than Muggleborns and half-bloods. It is being held by a group that I have had unfriendly dealings with in the past. Now I cannot tell any of you where you can go and what you can do once you get into Hogsmeade, but I urge all of you not to attend this seminar. These people are nothing but trouble, and you do not need to be associating with them. I know you will all do the right thing and stay away from this abomination.”  

Dumbledore’s voice now grew kinder.  “I’m sorry to sound so grim, but I just had to get this out. I hope all of you will reflect on it today. I want all of you to know that I am proud of all of you equally for your hard work, and so are the other teachers in this school.” Dumbledore looked at his pocket watch.  “I had better let you go to class now. I did not mean to be so long-winded. Have a truly great day.” 

He finished to a thunderous applause that had students like Harry and Cho clapping, and students like Marietta, and Oliver Skint scowling. 

Back at the Ravenclaw table, Luna and Cho were getting up to go to Care of Magical Creatures class, when Beverly and Nancy asked to speak to Cho in private. Cho told Luna that she would catch up with her at the front door. She looked at Beverly and Nancy as Luna headed off ahead of her.

 “What’s up guys?” Cho asked.  Beverly and Nancy gave each other worried looks.  

“Well Cho… You have Care of Magical Creatures next right?” Beverly asked nervously.  

 Cho nodded her head. 

“Err… well, you're not really going through with this are you?” Nancy asked equally worried.  

Cho gave a determined look and lapsed into her heavy Scottish accent.  “Look guys, how do ya know that there isn’t a Crumple-Horned Snorkack? I mean just because no one has ever seen one before doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. I mean, look at the Muggle world. They don’t believe in dragons or wizards, or magic, but we know they are real." 

Beverly slapped her forehead, and Nancy hung her head and shook it.  “Cho, we told you that we cannot back you up on this one. If you tell everyone you see the Snorkack you’ll be the only one saying it besides Luna. People will think that you’ve gone mental like her. Don’t you care about what people will think about you?” Beverly asked.  

Cho gave Beverly an angry look.  “Beverly, since when has that ever been important to me? I’ve never tried to be popular, I…”  

Nancy interrupted her.  “But you are popular Cho! You are. And you’re not going to continue to be if you keep supporting people when they are unpopular. I mean, why you don’t just tell Luna the truth. She comes up with some more weird stuff every year. You should try and distance yourself from her for a while, until she gives up on this,” Nancy intoned.  

Cho looked at Beverly.  “And tell me Beverly, is that what I should have done when _you_ came to me with your concern? Distance myself from you because what you are isn’t that popular? Because some people were teasing you about it? Because people looked at you like you were different? If I had not stood up for you, maybe you wouldn’t have had any friends today,” Cho said, a little upset.  

Beverly lowered her head.  “I… I’m very grateful that you stood up for me and even got into trouble for me, and I owe you a lot…” she said shakily.  

Cho put a hand on Beverly’s shoulder.  “No Beverly, ya don’t owe me. That’s not how I want my friendships to be.  I’m not keeping score. I just want you two to understand that I need to support Luna, and I want you to respect that. Look I… I guess it’s wrong of me to expect you two to go along with Luna on this, but… just don’t make fun of her, and maybe stick up for her if other people do when I’m not around, okay?” Cho pleaded.  

Nancy and Beverly reluctantly nodded their heads.  “You know that we're not going to make fun of her Cho. Look I—we--hope it goes well for you two today. Really.” Beverly said.  

Cho nodded her head again. "Thanks you two, I hope so too. Well goodbye,” she finished, as she walked out of the Great Hall to meet Luna. 

Cho took slow steps toward the hut that the half-giant of Hogwarts, Professor Hagrid had his class in front of. When Luna and she were with in a few meters Cho noticed that the ground was frozen, and that there were patches of ice  in several places. Normally this would not be odd, but the weather was unusually warm for this time of year, and there was no frozen ground anywhere else. 

Cho and Luna were the first students there despite Cho’s keeping a slow pace. The massive Professor Hagrid was standing in front of the fence where the extra large pumpkins used for the Halloween feast were grown. His hands were bandaged. Cho had always felt a little bit afraid of the oversized professor, but she never really knew why. 

Hagrid smiled at the two of them with a big toothy grin. “Good evening you two. First ones here. Real eager to learn about giants I hope. Very friendly creatures with the right training. Real misunderstood creatures,” Hagrid said.  

Cho and Luna were soon joined by the rest of the class, and Ron Weasley came over and sat by them. The class was made up predominantly of people in Luna’s year, but as so few people in the six and seventh years had decided to take Care of Magical Creatures as an elective, Cho and Ron were scheduled to attend with the fifth years.  

Ron smiled at Luna.  “Hello Luna.  Um… how have you been?” he asked, trying to sound casual. 

Luna gave him a big hug, and kissed him on the cheek.  “Ron! I missed you. I’m so glad that you decided to come see the Snorkack with me.  

Ron smiled. "No problem. My friends Harry and Hermi… er…Harry will be coming as well. We’re both friends of Hagrid since our first year,” he said.  

Cho’s head shot up, and she turned to Ron.  “You mean…Harry Potter is taking this class… this period?” Cho asked excitedly.  

Ron gave a nod.  “Yeah, well it wasn’t on our schedule, but we couldn’t miss a class by Hagrid, so we're taking it as an elective." 

“Oh Ron, this is my good friend Cho Chang," Luna said in a cheery voice. "Cho, this is Ron Weasley.  He’s a friend of Harry’s.”  

The two smiled and shook hands. 

“Yeah, I know Cho.  You lost that Quidditch game to us last year, and your friend betrayed the DA and almost got everyone suspended,” Ron said with not a hint of resentment.  

But Cho’s insides churned, and she was deeply hurt. How mean that he should bring up such bad memories. Cho didn’t even do anything to him. She was being nice. Cho fought hard to fight back tears. She bit her lip, and remained clear eyed, but unable to speak. Why did he have to hurt her without provocation?  

Luna’s mouth dropped open.  “ **Uh! Ron. That was rude!** Why did you have to say that to her? Apologize now!” Luna demanded.  

Ron had a confused look on his face. “What? What did I say? I was just making conversation. I wasn’t trying to say anything rude,” he said, genuinely confused.  

Luna gave him an angry look.  “Well you did say something rude. Do you think that that’s any way to greet anyone, reminding them of a lost game and accusing them of being responsible for the DA getting busted up?”  

Ron looked shocked.  “No Luna… I didn’t mean that. I don’t blame her, I blame Marietta Edgecombe. She was the one who went to Umbridge, not Cho. That’s why it was Marietta who had the jinx on her face, and not Cho. I guess I just wasn’t thinking about what I was saying. Sorry Cho, I didn’t mean anything by it,” he finished sincerely.  

Cho nodded her acceptance of the apology, but was still hurt. She remained quiet and sat down on the cold ground with the rest of the students. Some were still arriving, and Cho looked back towards the castle, and saw Harry and his girlfriend, Hermione Granger heading toward the class. Cho quickly turned away, and focused her attention on Professor Hagrid as she opened her book to the first chapter. She was really hurt, and wondered if Harry and his girlfriend had gotten back together, or if they had even separated in the first place. She yawned and rubbed her bloodshot eyes. 

Harry saw Ron sitting next to Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang and headed toward them, but Hermione pulled on his arm. “Where are you going Harry?” Hermione asked.  

Harry pointed to Ron.  “Well Ron, Luna, and Cho Chang are sitting over there.  Let’s sit next to them,” Harry said.  

Hermione gave him an angry look.  “Harry! You know I don’t want to sit next to them. Look, you sat next to Ron at Breakfast. Can't you sat next to me for this class?” 

“But I needed to talk to Luna about Sirius—today--and I wanted to talk to Cho Chang about something as well,” Harry protested.  

Hermione pulled him further to the opposite end of assembled students.  “You can talk to them later; it’s my turn for you to sit with me. You can’t be with Ron and me at the same time. You’ll have to make time for both of us,” Hermione said.  

Harry saw Ron and Luna motioning him to sit next to them. Cho also glanced at him with a hurt look on her face. Harry gave an apologetic shrug to Ron and Luna, as he and Hermione sat at the other end of the class. 

Cho gave a deep, sad sigh and lowered her head. She didn’t know what Harry was doing with his girlfriend here. She thought that he still had feelings for her, but clearly he was still with Miss Granger on some level. 

Cho focused her concentration on Professor Hagrid, as he began to speak about the history of Giants, and reiterated his earlier point that they were misunderstood creatures. The lecture was informative, and Cho remembered that last year the paper had said that Professor Hagrid was a half giant, which would explain his massive size. The paper had also said that he was a danger to his students, as well, but Cho didn’t like to believe the papers, although she remembered that the professor had had several dangerous creatures in class before, and she was glad that there were no giants lurking around the school. 

When the class was almost over, the Professor opened the class to questions. He explained that, with the proper training, any giant could become a contributing member of society, and that although _Walking With Giants_ was a good reference book, it had a lot of factual errors in it that he would try and clear up. After a few more questions on the subject, one of the Hufflepuff fifth years asked if they would be learning about any other magical creatures this year. Professor Hagrid gave a bright smile. “Course we will. There will be, Bugbears, Nifflers, Murtlaps, ya know, lots of creatures…"  

Just at that moment there came a racket behind him, and he turned towards the noise.   Luna called out, “Oh! Professor, what about Crumple-horned Snorkacks?”   But Hagrid didn't answer, for now there came a howling and loud thumping sounds, obviously from his hut.  He bounded up the steps, opened the door, and disappeared inside.  

Cho lowered her head, as some of the students laughed, whether at their teacher's antics or Luna's question, she couldn't be sure. But she couldn’t go through with this, she thought. 

Oliver Skint called out, laughing, “Ha ha ha,  silly lunatic's having hallucinations again. Thinks she’s going to show us a non-existent creature she captured with her crazy father, like it said in that stupid article in _The Quibbler_. Looks like she needs to go to Saint Mungo's for a brain transplant!”  

Cho was furious, and through her anger, she was able to come up with new courage to stand up for her friend. She walked quickly over to where Oliver was sitting and pointed an accusing finger at him.  “ **Shut up Skint! How do you know that there is no Snorkack?** Have you ever seen one? Muggles don’t see a lot of things in the magic world, like dragons--and magic schools, but we all know that they're real. And the Crumple-horned Snorkack could be real too.”  

Oliver was aghast, as he was caught off guard by Cho’s attack.  “Look Chang, you can’t tell me that you really believe that stupid girl's story do you? I mean you would have to be off your chump to think that there’s a Crumple-horned Snorkack here. Why haven’t any of us seen it then?” Skint shot back, recovering himself.  

Cho gave him a menacing look.  “If you had read the article a little closer you would have realized that it’s invisible. So you can’t see it. But the paper said that Luna and her father caught one, and that’s what they did. And Luna’s not stupid. And if you say that about her again I’m going to kick your arse, Skint.”   

A fifth year Hufflepuff girl started giggling.  “The paper? The paper? Oh come on Miss Chang… _The Daily Prophet_ is **_the paper_** _!_ It’s something that everyone counts on to give accurate facts. _The Quibbler_ is just a bit of sensational journalism. Anyone who takes it seriously is a loony.”   

Cho turned to her now.  “ _The Daily Prophet_ is hardly ever right about anything. I have never trusted that waste of timber, and I would put _The Quibbler_ ’s reputation against it any day of the week,” Cho lied, realizing that she was going over the top with this.  

Ron stood up and joined in.  “Uh… I for one read that article in _The Quibbler_ , and I think that the Snorack is… err… I think…” Ron was having trouble finishing up. He looked at Luna. Ron didn’t believe in the Snorkack anymore than Cho did, but he wanted to impress Luna, and decided to cast his lot with her. He pushed himself to finish. “I think it’s real…” he said, still rather unsure of himself. 

“Don’t be silly Ron! You know full well that that the Snorkack is a lie,” Hermione said in a very jealous and uncharacteristic tone. She pointed to Luna with an accusing tone in her voice. “That stupid girl is just trying to get attention.” 

A hurt look came over Luna’s face. She thought that Hermione was her friend. Why was she acting like this? Luna really liked Hermione, and she had never known her to behave this way.  

Cho walked up to Hermione and got in her face, with a look of severe anger. “Don’t… ever call my friend a liar, Granger… try that one more time and…” Cho said through gritted teeth.  

Hermione gulped, but stood her ground.  “Look, I was only pointing out that, well-- there is no such thing as a Crumple-horned Snorkack whether she believes in it or not. It’s just a mythological creature. I was just trying to point out that she sees things that aren’t there.”  

“Well you called her a liar, _and she’s not._ Now apologize to her—now,” Cho said, ready for a fight.  

This is ridiculous, Hermione thought to herself. She just wanted to make Luna look bad so that Ron wouldn’t like her. She didn’t mean to call her a liar, or to have Cho get in her face. She didn’t even know that Cho and Luna were friends. She didn’t know that Luna had any friends besides her and the other DA members. Hermione hesitated as Cho stared her down with fist clenched. She realized that her own hands were also in fists. She relaxed them. “Okay, I'll apologize. I didn’t mean to say that to her,” Hermione said, and she carefully moved past Cho to apologize to Luna. 

“You’re too late. She’s run off back to the castle in tears," said Harry.  "Hermione… I… I’m ashamed of you for the first time in my life. You hurt me. How could you do that to someone?" Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.  

Hermione instantly was hit by a wave of sincere guilt. She hadn’t meant to hurt Luna.  She just lost it when she saw Ron taking up for her. She had been overcome with a sense of jealousy since she found out that Luna had been writing Ron over the summer. This isn’t what she wanted to be like. 

As Hermione looked around she saw that Ron was missing too. Hermione glanced back at Harry. “Harry, where is Ron?” she asked.  

Harry crossed his arms and gave her a disappointed look.  “He left right behind Luna, to go and console her,” Harry said.  

Hermione’s legs became jello, and she had to sit down.  

Cho, who was about to head off to comfort Luna, turned to Hermione.  “Look Miss Granger, when I get her calmed down I expect a full apology.  I don't care if you believe in the Crumple-horned Snorkack or not… ”  

“ **Alright shut up the lot of you! Pay attention!”** came the loud voice of Hagrid. He looked very hot, and everyone’s heads snapped towards him. How long he had been standing there, no one knew.  

Hagrid calmed down and lowered his voice when he saw that he had everyone’s attention. “Sorry, 'bout tha'.  Fang caught a Jarvey an' didn't know what to do with it.  Now look, to answer Miss Lovegood's question… in this class we're going to deal with a variety of magical creatures. Now we'll get to as many as we can, but each year I like to have one main one that we focus on. This year it’s giants. But we will get to others as well. Crumple-horned Snorkacks will be among the ones that we study,” he said in an even gentler tone.  

Oliver Skint raised his hand high and shook it.  “Err… yes Mr. Skint?” 

“Professor Hagrid… you mean that… well… study the Snorkack as it relates to mythology, right?” Skint asked, as the warning bell was heard emanating from the castle. 

The students started to pack up their stuff and leave. Cho was at the head of them and moving the fastest. 

“Miss Chang, Mr. Skint, Hermione, and Harry please stick around,” Hagrid called out to the respective students. They stopped and walked back to where Hagrid stood. He gave a happy smile. “I want the four of you to stay around for a while longer. I have something to show you.” Hagrid said. 

Harry looked at his watch. “But Hagrid, I’ll be late for Transfiguration,” Harry said. 

“And I’ll be late for Defense Against Dark Arts,” Skint protested. 

”We’ll all be late for our classes,” Hermione put in. 

“I… have to go find Luna, and make sure she’s okay,” Cho said worried. 

Hagrid put up his bandaged hands to calm everyone’s concerns. “Now relax everyone. I’ll write each of you a note to your respective classes. I have something I want you all to see, and I think that it’s going to be worth the wait. And Miss Chang, I think that Ron will be able to help Miss Lovegood on his own."  Hermione gave him a hurt look. "Now If you will all follow me around to the other side of me house please…” 


	23. Chapter 23: Crumple Horned Snorack

  


**Chapter 23: Crumple Horned Snorack**

The four students followed Hagrid around the little house, down a small trail that led to an area that was obscured from the castle by an outcropping of trees. In the area was a wooden fence with a small iron gate. The ground inside the fenced in area was frozen and littered with several ice patches. Hagrid led the students through the gate, and reminded them to be careful not to slip on the ice. Hagrid then gestured toward an empty corner of the enclosure.

“Well there you go, everyone. An actual Crumple-Horned Snorkack.” He said this with a heavy degree of satisfaction in his voice. 

Everyone strained to see what he was motioning at, but no one saw anything. Cho hoping that he was serious, but still as skeptical as anyone, was the first to speak.“Pr…Professor, do ya mean somewhere in the forest?” she asked. 

Hagrid shook his head, and smiled.“Oh excuse me, I forgot. You’re not sure what to look for, and he’s resting now. Let me get him moving about so you can all see him. Stay here where it’s safe, everyone. Watch for any movement. Hagrid walked to the corner of the fence, drew a battered pink umbrella out of his belt, and waved it around, saying a spell. Purple sparks flew out of the umbrella and showered the corner. Just for a moment, a clear see-through image came into view.  It moved around, and although everyone could tell it was a large creature, no one could make out a definite shape. The motion of the creature gave the impression of flowing water, and a clear head, similar to a pointy-nosed dog, but with a twisting see-through horn, was visible for just a second. 

The students stood in awe of what they were seeing, and a wide smile started to creep across Cho’s face, as she wiped away a joyful tear. Suddenly a horrific roar caused all the students to jump, and the see-through head of the creature shot out a blast of frost at Hagrid, who was able to produce a Shield Charm just in time. He disappeared behind the icy blast for a moment, but then reappeared unharmed in front of a Hagrid-shaped patch of grass amid all the ice. He turned to everyone and pointed to the creature.“Ya see? I told ya all it was real. A bit temperamental, but a right friendly creature to be sure.” Hagrid gave a final spell that Harry had never heard before, and the beast disappeared. 

Hagrid walked back over to the stunned students, with a look of complete satisfaction. “Well are there any questions?” Hagrid asked. 

Harry looked at him.  “How did you know when it would attack you, Hagrid?” Harry asked. 

Hagrid smiled.  “Oh well that was easy. I had a chat with Mr. Lovegood when he had some people bring it over. He said that he lost a few of his expedition to Frosty’s blast. Turns out every time that he’s about to fire one off, he makes a loud noise like that, and you only have a few seconds to respond." 

Everyone stared blank-faced at Hagrid.“Frosty?” Oliver Skint asked.“Yeah, well all creatures need a name, ya see, and being that he’s so cute and cold, I thought Frosty fit 'im to a tee,” Hagrid said.

“Ha-Hagrid. How can you tell if it’s cute? We can’t even see it properly,” Hermione said, still in awe of the spectacle before her. 

Hagrid shook his head.  “Well, ya know, ya just have ta use your imagination, that’s all.  Anyway now that ya all saw it, ya can tell everyone that Luna Lovegood and her father are not crazy, and that we will be seeing the Snorkack one day this year.”

“ _One_ day this year? Hagrid, we should be studying this every day. I mean, it’s got to be the only one in captivity doesn’t it?” Harry asked. 

Hagrid looked upset.  “Err… look Harry this year, we're mainly focusing on giants. It’s important. We’ll get to the Snorkack eventually, but we don’t know enough about it for now. Dumbledore taught me a spell that would calm it down, but even he doesn’t know that much about it. We’ll more likely have more data for a class on the Snorkack next year,” Hagrid said. "But Giants are the order of the day for now. Anyway, ya all have your proof now, so Luna has witnesses to her story.” 

Oliver Skint had a troubled look on his face. “I can’t tell everyone about this… they wouldn’t believe me unless I brought them down here to see it.”  

Hagrid rubbed his chin in thought. “Err… well, I guess that next Friday I could have a class on the Snorkack, but before and after that it’s giants. Anyway, let's all head back to my house. I need to get some parchment to write you all excuses.” 

As the four students followed Hagrid, Harry noticed that Cho was wiping tears from her cheeks, but had a bright smile on her face that seemed to give her a heavenly glow, and that feeling in his stomach started to return. He started having thoughts about what another date with Cho would be like. He started to daydream about Cho and him dancing at the Yule ball. **_No!_** he thought, _push it out of your mind. You're just friends now. That’s how it should be._

He turned to look at Hermione, who also had a few tears running down her eyes, but instead of a smile, her face seemed to be a mixture of anger and disappointment. What was wrong with her? Harry thought. She should be happy for Luna, but this jealousy was affecting her judgment. He knew that she was in love with Ron, and Ron had made it clear that he was also in love with her, and that he wasn’t going to be to serious about other girls.  He just wanted some dating experience under his belt.

“Professor Hagrid, when you said that Mr. Lovegood lost a few of his expedition capturing the Snorkack… do you mean that it killed them?” asked Skint. 

Hagrid suddenly had a sad look on his face.  “Well… yeah, the Snorkack froze a couple of wizards ta death, but… but that was only in self defense ya see. I mean, they had him cornered, and the poor little fellow was frightened, so it tried to defend itself,” Hagrid said cautiously. 

Hermione’s head shot up.  “So they… I mean Luna and her father were being cruel to the Snorkack; they were mistreating a magical creature." There was a calculating tone in her voice.  "I think that I should bring that up at the next S.P.E.W. meeting.” 

Cho looked at her blankly.  “Wh… what’s Spew?” she asked pronouncing the acronym as the word that Ron had always called it by. 

Hermione gave a sigh.  “S.P.E.W. is My magic creatures protection organization. It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare, but we also concern ourselves with the protection of other magical creatures. If Luna and her father have been mistreating poor Frosty, I can assure you that… “

Harry cut in. “Oh, give it a rest, Hermione. Stop looking for excuses to bring down Luna. You know that you’re better than that, so just cut it out.” 

Hermione gasped.  “Harry I can assure you that I’m sincerely interested in the welfare of Frosty, that’s all,” she said defensively. 

Hagrid put up his bandaged hands to silence everyone. “Now look, Hermione, I can assure _you_ that the most humane means available were used to bring Frosty in, and that I would never hurt a hair on his head… err… if he has any hair that is.” Hagrid finished uncertainly. 

Oliver Skint, who had just received his excuse note from Hagrid, looked none too pleased.“Professor Hagrid, how could you have a dangerous creature like that around? I mean it endangers the students don’t it?” Oliver asked hotly. 

Hagrid just smiled at Skint. “Course not. I never lost a student to a magical creature in my life. Now, you can all go now, I have some paperwork ta get through, and it takes me hours to fill out a page. Good morning.” 

Everyone said their goodbyes and started walking toward the castle. When they were halfway up the path Harry called out.“ **Cho!”**   

Cho turned to him with a worried look on her face. “Yes, Harry?” she asked. 

Harry fidgeted around. “Could I have a word with you real quick?” he asked. 

Cho nodded with a slight smile, and walked back to him, as Granger and Skint continued up the walkway. 

Harry smiled at her. “Well I… I just wanted to say that it was a really nice thing that you did, standing up for Luna and all. I was really impressed, and well… I just wanted to say… I just wanted to say that I’m proud of you.” Harry finished. A tear started welling up in Cho’s eye. _Oh no, not again_ , Harry thought. _How many times can one person cry?_  

But Cho did not cry, but gave Harry a tight hug. Harry could again smell the sent of vanilla in her hair, and felt her tremble. He embraced her as well. Her face was warm, and he became aroused. It took everything he had, but he slowly pulled away. Cho thanked him for the compliment, and they headed back to the castle. 

Suddenly Harry stopped and held Cho’s arm. She turned to look at him, and he looked to make sure that Skint was far enough ahead to be out of earshot. He pulled out a note and handed it to Cho. “Look, I tried to send this to you last night, but you didn’t get it. I told the owl to come back, if it couldn’t reach you, as I didn’t want it bringing you the note at breakfast. Did you fall asleep last night?” Harry asked. 

Cho’s expression turned to one of embarrassment. She looked up at Harry with shiny, almond-shaped eyes.“Uh… well actually Harry Luna and I… “ Cho started, about to tell Harry of her adventure the night before, but then realized that Harry might think less of her for sneaking out after curfew, and changed her mind. “Well Harry, Luna and I were studying late in the common room, and I fell asleep. I’m really sorry!” Cho pleaded. 

Harry gave her a pat on the back.  “It’s okay. Look, this Saturday, let's meet up somewhere private… like the Room of Requirement. Say around five thirty?”  

Cho was elated. Harry wanted to spend time with her in private. She could ask him so many things about himself that she had wanted to know, things that went beyond his being _The Harry Potter._ And now he wanted to be with her. Maybe Harry and Hermione Granger really were breaking up. 

“And don’t tell anyone but Luna," Harry said. "You two have to be there on time.”

Cho nodded her head.  “Right Harry, I… wait, what do you mean _bring Luna?”_ Cho asked confused. 

Harry looked at her, not sure about the reason why she didn’t get his statement. “Well because I’m going to need her there tomorrow as well. She was there with you when you two were listening in on Marietta. I’ll bring Hermione and Ron, and we'll all put our heads together to try and guess what Marietta is up to.”  

Cho gasped. _Oh no,_ she thought to herself. Harry didn’t want to spend time with her on Saturday, he just wanted to find out what Marietta was up to, and he was bringing Miss Granger, a girl who, after what had just happened at Magical Creatures class, she was sure that she didn’t like. “Um… Harry I can’t come. I have a lot of work to do. I have to study, and…” Cho stammered. 

Harry put his arm around her.  “Look, Cho, this could be important.  What if she’s working for You-Know-Who?” he said.

“Scoff! Harry, Marietta couldn’t possibly do that. I mean she’s gotten mean, but she could never do… _that!_ How could any student here?” Cho asked. 

Harry gave her a sincere look. “Well I know a few that are probable plotting against this school right now, but if Marietta’s not capable of siding with him, then she’s probably doing something on a more local level. I think that we should find out what it is.”

Cho hesitated, and she looked unsure. She just didn’t want to be in the same room when Harry and Hermione were together. If she saw the two of them kiss, she would be devastated for life. 

Harry faced her, and she looked into his emerald green eyes, hypnotized with a feeling of warmth that only he could make her feel. “Please Cho… I need you there. It’s important. Will you come?” Harry pleaded. 

Cho was in a daze. Harry needed her. He needed her to be there for him, and she couldn’t let him down. She would just have to suffer Miss Granger, if she wanted to help Harry.  “Sure Harry. Five thirty. I… Luna and I will be there.” Cho said. Harry hugged her again, and she felt as though she might go limp in his arms. 

His face suddenly became one of concern. “Are you okay Cho?” he asked with a worried look in his eyes.

“Yes Harry, why?” Cho asked not understanding his concern.

“Well it’s just that… you’re breaking a sweat, and it’s not terribly warm out side.” 

Cho reassured him that she was okay, and the two hugged once more, and went to their respective classes. 

Harry had trouble concentrating throughout the day, as he thought of Cho’s warm body against him, and recalled her cute soothing Scottish accent. He tried to put her out of his mind, but it was difficult.

Later that day, Harry and Ron sat in the back of Defense Against Dark Arts class, and opened their books. Hermione, as usual, sat at the front, more to be away from Ron, than to soak up knowledge it seemed. Professor Snape was discussing some weapons to use against vampires. 

Ron leaned over to Harry. “I wish she would come sit by me once today. And I wish she could apologize to Luna,” Ron said bitterly.

“Don’t worry Ron; she’s going to apologize. I know that she feels real bad about what she did, and will make it right. I told you that she promised Cho she would, after you and Luna left,” Harry said.

“Still, she was lucky that I was able to console poor Luna, and make her happy again… I can’t believe that there really is a Crumple-Horned Snorkack! But after you described its blast, I’m kind of glad I missed it,” Ron said quietly. 

Harry nodded. “Well, at least, standing up for Luna gave you some points with her… I…” 

Harry was interrupted.“ **Mr. Potter!”** yelled Snape. Harry jumped. Snape walked hastily over to him. “Mr. Potter, do you have your assignment?” Snape asked with a mischievous grin. 

Harry began to sweat.“Err… yes professor. Here.” Harry said as he handed Professor Snape the parchment. 

Snape swiped it from him violently and started reading it as he walked back to his desk. After a few minutes, Professor Snape stood up to the podium with Harry’s parchment. He cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, and spoke with a deep sinister sounding voice.“Now class, here we have an example of a student who doesn’t pay attention to the instructions of…” 

Snape was interrupted by the door opening, and Pansy Parkinson slowly and quietly walked up to him, handed him a piece of parchment, and pointed to Harry. After a couple of minutes of discussion between the two of them, Snape gave Harry a hateful look.“Mr. Potter! Your presence is requested in Mr. Filch's office. You will go with Miss Parkinson, and we will discuss your pathetic excuse for homework on Monday." 

Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Why does Filch want to see me?” Harry asked. 

Snape gave him a look, like he was going to toss him out the door, but kept his decorum.“I don’t know, and I don’t care, but probably because he has proof of some mischief you’ve been into. Get out; I have real students in here who actually stand a chance of passing this course,” Snape said pointing Harry to Miss Parkinson and the door. 

Harry didn’t need to be told a second time. At least he would be away from Professor Snape.When Harry and Pansy were walking down the corridor, he turned to her.“Um… excuse me, but do you know why Filch wants to see me?” Harry asked. 

Pansy smiled. “Perhaps it’s as the Professor said. Maybe you’ve caused some trouble, and Filch has some proof on you, Potter.” She said this with a slight, irritating smile. 

Harry scoffed, “Ha! No way. I’ve haven’t been here long enough to do anything.” 

They continued walking, and Harry would stare at Pansy’s figure on occasion. She was much more slender than last year, and the summer had been good to her. He started to walk closer to her, and entertained the idea of putting his arm around her. He might have if she hadn’t been a Slytherin, and a prefect. 

Pansy made a turn away from the corridor leading to Filch’s office. Harry stopped.“Wait… Filch’s office is that way.” Harry said, pointing in the opposite direction from Pansy’s chosen path. 

She smiled. “So it is… but who said Filch wanted to see you in his office?”  

Harry scratched his head. “Well I just assumed…” Harry started. 

Pansy gave him a flirtatious smile, and beckoned him to follow her. “This way Potter,” she said.“

It’s Harry. You can call me Harry,” he said. 

Pansy led him on until they came to the girls’ lavatory. Pansy stopped in front of the door, and rapped on it three times.“This way… Harry,” She said in a sensual tone. 

Harry looked at the door, and bridled. “Pansy… this is the _girl’s lavatory_ , the one that’s closed down because it’s haunted by Moaning Myrtle. What’s going on? Is Filch inside?” Harry asked suspiciously. 

Pansy gave him another flirtatious look, and smiled. “Well… maybe I wanted to have a few moments with you first,” she said, as she ran her hand over his chest. 

Harry snorted, but her hand felt good even through the fabric of his shirt.“I thought that you didn’t like half-bloods,” Harry said. 

Pansy smiled. “Well… there are exceptions to the rule. I mean after all, you are _The Boy Who_ lived aren’t you?” she said. 

Harry smiled. _I certainly am_. 

Pansy unbuttoned the top button of her uniform, and started in the door. “Then come on… I have something I want to show you,” she finished, as she walked inside. 

Harry sensed something was wrong, but he was also very aroused. He took in a deep breath and walked in the room. When he walked in, he saw Pansy facing him, and off to her left a blue beam coming out of one of the stalls and hitting what looked like a stunned Moaning Myrtle. She was just hanging in the air, see-through, eyes closed, and drooling from her mouth. 

Suddenly Harry’s peripheral vision kicked in, and he noticed other figures on both sides of him.“ **Hey!”** he shouted. 

Harry reached for his wand, only seconds too late. Two boys grabbed him and held his arms. “Let me go! Let me go!” Harry shouted. 

Pansy let out a playful laugh. “Now, now Potter. Calm down,” she said with a bright smile. She walked towards him, put her mouth close to his ear, and whispered seductively. “I think you have something I want,” she said, as she put her hand on his stomach and moved it down to the hard protrusion sticking out of his pants. Pansy smiled even wider. “Is that a wand in your pocket, Potter, or are you just glad to see me?” she joked, as she pulled out his wand from his pocket, and backed away. 

Harry wasn’t amused. He struggled to free himself from the firm grip of the two boys, but they held him in iron grips. “What do you want Pansy? Why did you bring me here?” Harry asked with hostility. 

Suddenly he heard another girl’s voice.“Why, dear Potter… she brought you here to see _me_.”  The blue beam that had been trained on Myrtle suddenly turned off and a girl stepped out of the bathroom stall. 

Harry recognized her at once.  Marietta Edgecombe!  "What is it that you want then?” Harry asked still struggling to break free of the impossible grip. 

Marietta tossed her head. “Oh, nothing much for now. Just to remind you to go to the Quidditch pitch early today. And to go straight to the changing room when you do,” she said. 

Harry shook his head to clear it. “What? What does my Quidditch have to do with you?” 

Marietta smiled as she held up her wand. “Just for today, Potter… everything,” Marietta finished, as she lifted up her own wand. **“Obliviate!”**


	24. Chapter 24: Missing Time

  


Chapter 23: Missing Time

  
Harry walked down the path toward the Quidditch Pitch. He had gotten up and walked out of the last few minutes of his charms class to do it. It was just as well, he wasn’t able to work any charms anyway, as he had forgotten his wand somewhere. He had somehow misplaced it, while in Filch’s office, or after leaving it. He didn’t remember exactly why he had been there, but he must have left it there. It was the only place that it could be. He wasn’t sure why he felt such a strong need to go to the pitch so early, but he knew that he needed to for some reason. His desire to go to the pitch was even greater than his desire to retrieve his wand. Harry would just have to wait and see Filch after the game. As Harry walked, he passed within several meters of the Whomping Willow, and reflected on the times that it had almost killed him. The tree was now still and harmless looking, but Harry knew that it was only a façade, and that it would violently attack any student that got too close.

  
Harry continued down to the area where the Gryffindor team changed clothes and discussed strategy. He opened the door to the changing room and stopped dead when he saw who was there waiting for him. It was Marietta Edgecombe and Mrs. Norris. Harry was livid. Marietta Edgecombe disrupted his DA classes last year, and almost got everyone suspended, and Dumbledore kicked out of Hogwarts. So that was reason enough not to like her. But there was something else about her that made him furious. He couldn’t imagine what it was. Perhaps it was because of the story Cho and Sir Nicholas told him, about her mysteriously sneaking about, or perhaps he was taking what happened last year a little too personally, but his instincts told him that she was very dangerous, and now she was in the Gryffindor changing room where she didn’t belong, and he wasn’t about to stand for it.  
“What are you doing here?” Harry shouted angrily. 

  
Marietta, who had an unpleasant look on her face before Harry spoke now turned red, and shouted back at him.  “It’s about time you showed up you stupid mudblood! I had to leave my Herbology class to deal with you, and lost twenty points from my house! Now shut up and come here,” she screamed.   
Harry was taken aback. What did she mean, it was about time that he got there? He had made no plans to be with her, he never would. And how would it have been his fault that she lost points for leaving class. But she seemed to be expecting him, and he didn’t even understand why he had come here so early.  
“Don’t tell me what to do! This is the Gryffindor locker room, and you’re not allowed. Get out, before I toss you out on your arse!” Harry screamed with great hostility.  
 Marietta clenched her fist, and stared at Harry with utter contempt. She pulled out a wand and pointed it at him. Harry didn’t move, but looked around for a possible escape. Marietta held the wand pointed at his torso. She spoke again, more controlled this time.

  
“Recognize this wand, Potter?” she said. Harry looked at the wand, and instantly recognized it as his. He struggled to keep himsel from leaping at Marietta and getting his wand back, as she would probably be able to blast him at this range with relative ease.

  
“Give… me… my wand… back Marietta. Right now!”   
Marietta smiled.  “Sure thing mudblood, just as soon as I’m done with it. Obliviate!” Marietta said and the incompatible wand popped out of her hand, and on to the floor between them. Marietta and Harry both dived for the wand at the same time, and hit their heads together, with a thud. Harry and Marietta were now both on the grassy floor, rubbing their heads; in severe pain, for a few seconds. Harry recovered faster and grabbed his wand before Marietta could reach it. Marietta started to reach for her own wand to counter him, but as she looked up, saw that Harry already had his pointed at her neck, and she gasped.

  
“Don’t even think about it! Take your hands away from your pockets Marietta! Now!”  
 Marietta gave Harry a dirty look, but did as he said. 

  
Harry looked at her curiously. “Now, you’re going to answer some questions that I have. Why are you sneaking around here, why were you trying to put a memory charm on me, and why have you been sneaking around the castle at night, after curfew?” Harry inquired with an angry tone in his voice. 

  
Marietta sat up against a wooden post to support herself.  “It’s none of you business Potter. Sod off!” Marietta said with an air of deep hatred. 

  
Harry put the wand right to her throat. "I want answers, or you’ll be spewing out slugs for a week. You know I’ll do it. Why were you trying to wipe my mind?” 

  
Marietta watched Miss Norris maneuver around behind Harry. Then she looked up at Harry and smiled.“Why, dear Potter, I needed you to forget that I was ever here, so that you could concentrate on telling your team what they needed to do to win this game today. This is a very important game for you, and I’m going to make sure that you do everything you’re supposed to.”   
Harry scoffed.  “Oh really Marietta? Quidditch fan are you? Why the keen interest in Gryffindor winning a practice game against Hufflepuff? I mean we're going to win no matter what. Are you betting on it or something?” Harry asked, not believing that Marietta would be coming forth with the truth. 

  
Marietta smiled at him.  “Something like that, Potter. But it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game,” she said and looked past Harry  with a wide smile and bright eyes. Suddenly two hands grabbed for the wand in Harry’s hands. He kept a firm grip on it until he turned to see who was trying to wrestle it away from him. It was Marietta, naked! Harry thought he was going mad, but he was looking right at her in front of him, and totally in the buff. She had a determined look in her eyes, and he loosened his grip on the wand out of shock. Harry looked back to see the other Marietta getting up and dusting herself off. Suddenly he felt the wand slip from his hands, and the nude Marietta pointed the wand at his throat.   
“No!” The first Marietta screamed; don’t use it on him while you’re me. She reached for her own wand, and stuck it to Harry’s back. “Don’t move Potter! Or else,” she said. 

  
The nude Marietta backed away from Harry, and spoke to the clothed Marietta.  “We’re running behind schedule; the rest of the team will be here soon. Let’s get on with it,” she said nervously.   
Harry was in a state of total confusion, did Marietta have a twin sister? And wouldn’t he have noticed her in school at some point? And what were they running behind schedule for anyway? And why wasn’t she wearing any clothes? Harry never got a chance to find out.

  
~*~

  
“Obliviate!” screamed Marietta, as she zapped Harry with the memory charm and  emptied his mind for that moment. Marietta smiled. “Now, Potter, you're going to tell me everything I want to know, beginning with how you knew about me sneaking out at night,” she said maliciously. 

  
The other Marietta gave her a worried look.  “No, Marietta. There isn’t any time.  Just erase his memory of what happened here so you can go before people start arriving,” The other Marietta said.   
Marietta frowned.  “Oh... alright. Potter you will have no memory of anything that happened after you opened the changing room door. Understand?” Marietta asked frustrated. 

  
Harry, under the hypnotic effect of the memory charm, nodded his head in unwilling agreement. 

  
Marietta smiled. “Good! Now love, do what you have to now.” She said happily.   
The nude Marietta pointed her finger at Harry and a silvery string came out of her finger and stuck in Harry’s head. After a few seconds, Harry fell down unconscious. The nude Marietta started to remove his clothes, but Marietta stopped her. “No. I was able to get his Quidditch uniform. Use that. It’s over there.” She said pointing to the bench on the wall. “How long will he be out?” she asked. The nude Marietta melted to the floor in the shape of a clear blob, and after a few seconds reformed as Harry Potter, still nude. He moved over to the bench and put on the Quidditch uniform. It fit perfectly. The fake Harry then turned to help Marietta with the unconscious image of himself. And together they moved the body to an out of the way corner. Marietta walked over to another corner, and pulled the Invisibility Cloak from over the cage containing the real Mrs. Norris, who was fast asleep. She then crossed back over to the spot where Harry was, and covered his body with it. Harry disappeared underneath the cloak. Marietta looked up at the imposter Harry, and inquired how much time they had before he woke up on his own. An hour and a half, maybe two, came the reply.

  
“Then you know what you have to do don’t you?” Marietta asked. Harry gave her an annoyed look.

  
“Of course, we’ve only been over it a hundred times. Now leave, before someone sees you.” 

  
Marietta said her good bye and started out the door.  
“Wait!” said the fake Harry. “No good luck kiss?” he asked.  
 Marietta looked him over. “Ha! While you’re that mudblood? I should say not,” she said. “Wait until you can become some dreamy pureblood, and then we’ll have some fun,” she finished.

  
 She left in a run toward the castle, making it to the inner gate, as students were filing out of their final classes. She moved toward the great hall, past Ron Weasley and Luna Lovegood who were walking arm in arm together. Finally Marietta sat down beside Danielle Forester exhausted after her preparations. Danielle looked at her.  
“Is everything set, Marietta?” Danielle asked. Marietta nodded, and pulled a plate full of cherry pie toward her. Danielle leaned in closer. “Do you really think that it will work?” she asked. 

  
Marietta gulped down a spoon full of the pie, before she answered.  “Well, we’ll know soon enough won't we. Just keep your ears open for news, especially from the Hufflepuff table.

  
~*~

  
**“Harry, wake up! Wake up!”** Ron said nervously. Harry slowly opened his eyes. What… where am I?” Harry asked in a stupor.  
“You're in big trouble, that’s where you are!” shouted Katie Bell. “What were you thinking?” Do you want to get expelled? Do you want to get some one killed?” she demanded in an angry tone.

  
 Harry’s face was blank.  “What are you talking about?” Harry was coming out of his daze. 

  
Ron looked at him very concerned.  “Harry, why did you do that to that poor Miggins girl? You could have really hurt her being agressive at that altitude!”  

  
Harry looked around, bewildered.  “What are you all talking about?”    
Suddenly the door to the changing room snapped open, and Emmett Walsh, and two of his team mates, a boy and a girl, rushed in the room, Walsh was holding his wand at the ready, and his team mates were holding their Quidditch bats in threatening postures. Walsh spotted Harry on the floor, and started screaming.  
 **“What the hell do you think you’re playing at Potter? Is this your idea of taking it easy on someone? You think that knocking someone off their broom like that at two thousand feet is funny? Well I’m going to show you funny.”** Walsh screamed at the top of his lungs, as a few of Harry’s teammates blocked Walsh and his beaters from getting to him.   
Ron put his hands up to stop him from zapping Harry.  “Now, now Walsh, look, we're sorry about what happened. Really! It was all a mistake.” Ron said sincerely apologetic. 

  
Walsh looked as if he was going to tear into Ron at any moment.  **“Some mistake. It was only supposed to be a bloody practice game. You bastards must want that cup pretty bad to stoop this low. Well it’s not going to happen! I’m going straight to my head of house about this, and I’m sure she’ll be having a word with the head master."**

  
 Each of the Gryffindors was apologizing for Harry’s actions, as well as their own, but Harry thought that he had only just arrived at the pitch; he was still in his school uniform.

  
**“What did I do? What am I being accused of?”** Harry pleaded nervously.   
Walsh looked at him with a hateful rage, still trying to push past Ron, who was trying to calm him down.  

**“Don’t give me any of that Potter, you know bloody well what you did!”** he said. Walsh then looked around at all the other Gryffindors as well. **“All of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Is this the way you intend to play the game from now on?”** he asked rhetorically. **“Fine! From now on it’s like Potter says… Quidditch is a tough sport! If you can’t take it maybe, you shouldn’t be playing. Well, we shall see how you lot like it when you’re the ones on the receiving end of such abuse.”** Walsh then looked at Harry, and pointed an accusing finger at him. “And if I ever get the chance Potter, I’ll deal with you personally.” He finished. 

  
Harry was still in shock.  “Look Walsh… I, I haven’t even played Quidditch today. I never said that.” Harry said as he looked himself over. “Look! I’m still in my school Uniform. How could I have played in this?” 

  
Ginny walked over behind Harry, and picked up his Quidditch uniform.  “You did get changed rather fast, Harry. You were only in here for a few minutes. Are you telling us that you have no memory of what just happened outside?” Ginny asked.   
Harry looked at her sincerely. “Honestly, I must have passed out. I don’t know what anyone’s talking about. I haven’t played Quidditch today!” Harry shouted.  
“Look Walsh, this has all been a terrible mistake. Harry, apologize to Walsh.” Ron said. 

  
Harry’s jaw dropped. “Apologize… for what? I don’t even know what I’m being accused of!” Harry said. 

  
Walsh and his beaters again tried to push their way through the Gryffindor team, but were held back.  **“Don’t try and play the slippery eel with me Potter, You’re just worried about getting into trouble now that you and your team have taken things to far. Well, rest assured that the next time we play, we're going to be using the playbook. And I wouldn’t give a rat’s arse if you did say you were sorry. After today I don’t want to see your face until the official match.** Come on guys,” Walsh said in anger, as he and his beaters headed out the door. 

  
Harry was very upset, but wanted to ask Walsh what had happened.  “Walsh?” Harry shouted, as he started towards the door. 

  
Walsh turned around, and took a deep breath.  “You know Potter, it’s really sad. I thought you were a nice guy, and I really thought that you were a great hero for what you did at the Ministry last year. But looking at you now, I wonder if the papers weren’t right the first time. I wouldn’t have expected this type of behavior from a Slytherin.” Walsh finished, and left the room flanked by his beaters.   
Harry feeling numb sat on the grass.  “Where are they going?” he asked. A few of his team mates just shook their heads and left as well. 

  
Katie Bell looked at Harry with pity.  “I expect that they're going to visit Miss Miggins in hospital. You might want to stay clear of Hufflepuffs for a while. And I think that you need to see our Professor McGonagall before Walsh sees Professor Sprout. It will be better if you have a chance to explain your side of the story first.” Katie said.   
Harry felt he was going to vomit. He looked up at Katie.  “I don’t even know what my side of the story is!” he said, as Ron helped him up off the ground.  
“Harry, you have to promise me that you’re serious about not remembering anything,” Ron said in the most serious tone.   

  
Harry nodded.  “I am serious! I don’t remember anything Ron. It’s as if I’m missing the time since when I arrived, and now.” He said.   
Ron nodded.  “Okay, let’s go see Professor McGonagall. I’ll explain everything on the way there.” Ron finished.

 


	25. Chapter 25. Dinner in the Common Room

  


Well there is not much to say about this chapter, except that thankfully the long day ends. The events between the time Harry got zapped and when Ron woke him up will be revealed in great detail in a future chapter. Um... well... I think I don't have so many readers anymore, but if anyone's left, thanks again. Take care all.

 

 

**Chapter: 25 Breakfast in the Common Room  
**

Cho sat on a bench against the wall of the castle, in an out-of-the-way area. She looked around to make sure that she was alone. Once she was sure, she opened the letter from Harry, flattened it out against her Herbology book, and read it to herself again.

**_Dear Cho,_**

**_I've been thinking about what the ghosts have been telling us that Marietta, and Filch have been up to over the summer. It all seems really devious, and I think that you and Luna were right to keep tabs on Marietta, to make sure that she doesn't cause any trouble. I think that we should tell the ghosts to look for the second bewitched room. Well, at least just Sir Nicholas and The Gray Lady.  I'm sure we could trust the Fat Friar as well, but if you tell everyone a secret, then it's not a secret anymore, is it? Besides, I really don't want the Bloody Baron finding out either. I really don't think that I could trust a Slytherin ghost, no matter how long he's been in this school._**

**_Cho, I really am glad that you and Marietta are not friends anymore. You always did seem to be really nice. I'm sorry about what happened on Valentine's Day last year, and about a lot of stuff that went on. I just can tell you that a lot was going on that you don't know about, and that I can perhaps never tell you. I just hope you'll understand. I really am glad that we can be friends again. Also Hermione told me that you warned her about Marietta, and I'm really impressed. I know that even though you and Marietta are not friends anymore, it couldn't have been easy for you to go against someone you had been friends with for a while. Thanks for doing the right thing. Hermione is really special to me, and I'm grateful to you. We both are._**

**_One last thing. I was thinking that we all need to put our heads together on this thing. I think that we should meet in the Room of Requirement on Saturday. Most of the students will be outside if this good weather holds up, and no one will be looking for students gathering there, since there are no DA classes. We can all be assured of secrecy. But remember Cho; don't breathe a word of this to anyone, but Luna. Nothing against you, but I can't have anything like what happened last year  take place again. I trust you Cho._**

**_Your friend,_**

**_Harry_**

Cho was severely depressed. Harry was evidently still in love with his girlfriend Hermione Granger, and tomorrow Cho was going to have to spend at least an hour with her. Between her being Harry's girlfriend, and the way that she treated Luna, Cho was going to have a terrible time at the meeting. Cho was happy that Harry was proud of her for warning Hermione, but Cho didn't think it was very special. Wouldn't anyone else have done the same thing? Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean that you wish any harm on them. And Harry still evidently had trust issues with Cho, not because he didn't trust her personally, but because Cho had made a poor choice in friends, and what was worse, a poor choice in her _best_ friend. If only she could go back, if only she could have seen Marietta for the person that she was back then. But she couldn't, and now it probably ruined any chance that she could have had with Harry. Cho let out a deep sigh. She knew that she could never look at Harry as just a friend, but if that's what he needed right now, than she was going to be the best friend that she could to him. She would just have to keep her love for him a secret to herself, and find some way to deal with the pain. She pulled out a quill and some parchment from her book bag, and began to write a short letter to Harry telling him that Luna, and herself would be at the Room of Requirement at five thirty on Saturday, and mentioning that she wanted Hermione to apologize to Luna when they got there. She also noted that she would do whatever she could to help in any way she was able. When she had finished, she sealed the letter and started off to the Owlery to send the message. As Cho tried to cheer herself up, she reflected on the fact that Marietta had been chastised by Madam Sprout as she left Herbology class without permission. But even that was not really good news, as she had lost twenty points from Ravenclaw for the infraction as well. Cho packed up her books and started off towards the Owlery. As she walked in the door to the castle Emit Walsh and two of his Hufflepuff Quidditch team stormed in the door, still in Quidditch uniforms and nearly knocked her over as they rushed into the main entrance in a huff. He stopped to check on her.

"Oh... err, sorry, Chang. Are you okay?" he asked sincerely.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Cho said weakly. She looked at their uniforms. "Were you guys playing another house today?" she asked, wondering if Harry was at practice today. A look of controlled rage came over Walsh's face, and his team mates looked none too pleased as well.

"Yeah, we were playing a bunch of gits that can't even follow the rules of the game. I'm going to report their reprehensible conduct to my head of house.  They almost got my Seeker, Cindy Miggins killed," he said hotly. 

Cho raised an eyebrow. "My god, I didn't know that the Slytherin team had become so brazen. I mean they always tried to get away with a couple of cheap shots before, but..." 

"No, Chang, I mean the Gryffindors! Especially that... that... **Potter!** He's the one that almost killed Miggins. I'm going to request he be expelled, despite his celebrity status." 

 Cho couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at Walsh with disbelief.  "Walsh, you must be mistaken. It was an accident if Harry caused her to fall. You know he would never do anything like that. I know Harry, he's a good person, he..."

"Look Chang, don't go defending that... don't go defending him to me, he was happy about it. Kept saying that Quidditch was an aggressive sport not for the faint of heart, and if we didn't like it, that maybe we should go play Quidditch with the under fives. Of course after he gathered that I was going to my head of house, he denied everything, but I'm not going to let him get away with it. If you don't believe me, ask anyone on my team," Walsh said and turned to Max Beck, one of his Beaters. "Max, tell Cho that I'm serious about it." 

Max nodded his head.  "It's true, Miss Chang. Harry and his team were really rough beyond what was necessary, and Potter was damned violent. He even tried to knock Fred Gibson off his broom during the match because he was about to score," Max said. 

Cho shook her head.  "Look I... I know Harry must have an excuse for what he did... he..."

"What excuse, Chang? You weren't there. You didn't see the match. Don't go defending Potter just because he's _the Boy Who Lived_. I read some material about him, and his victory came under very odd circumstances. I wonder just how much of it's true." Max said. 

Cho looked at him with an upset look on her face.  "What have you been reading that says that?" Cho asked. 

Max looked around defensively.  "Well I-just stuff. Look it doesn't matter. The thing is that Potter practically attacked us and encouraged his team to do the same. So what do you think his excuse is?" Max asked. 

Cho was at a loss for words. She couldn't think that Harry would ever do anything like that, but she couldn't think of any reason why the two people in front of her would lie.  "Well... I'll ask him." She said, even more upset. 

Walsh gave her a dirty look.  "You do that, Chang, and tell him not to let me catch him alone in the halls either." 

 Now an angry look came over Cho's face.  "Don't you touch him Walsh! I'll get everything cleared up, but if you lay a hand on him, you'll have to answer to me." 

Walsh shook his head, and the two Beaters laughed. Everyone knew that Cho had the reputation of crying often, about a lot of things, and didn't seem to possess the skills of a fighter. The three of them walked off without another word. Cho started up the stairs toward the part of the castle where the Owlery was located, and tears started to drop from her eyes as she worried about Harry.

~*~

Harry was dumbstruck at what Ron was telling him, as they sat in Professor McGonagall's office. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Ron, I... I don't remember any of it. I don't. The last thing I do remember is leaving Charms class and going down to the locker room. And then nothing! What could have happened?" Harry asked with nervous anticipation of Professor McGonagall's impending arrival. 

Ron looked at him on the edge of disbelief.  "Why did you leave Charms class to go to the pitch, Harry? And why didn't you just tell Flitwick that you were ill? Because he thought you were ignoring him.  He took ten points off of Gryffindor because of it." 

Harry tried to search his mind as to why he had left Charms class.  "I... I honestly don't know. I can't remember much, only that I needed to go to the pitch. Oh! I just remembered.  I lost my wand. I have to go to Filch's office and get it," Harry finished. 

Ron looked at him oddly.  "Better wait for the professor first, Harry. I think we're in a lot of trouble." Ron said. Just then the door to the office opened and Professor McGonagall entered. She quickly took her seat and placed a glowing blue orb on her desk.

"Now, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. I understand that you both have something to tell me," she said casually. Ron recounted the story that he had just told Harry in great detail, and they both explained that Harry had no memory of it. After they had finished, Professor McGonagall closed her eyes and lowered her head, giving herself a moment to take it all in. After a few moments she raised her head again and spoke.

"Mr. Potter. I'm sure that you didn't mean to do this. I think that you may have been under the influence of You-Know-Who, but until we can prove that, I'm afraid that some disciplinary action must be taken. I'm sure that Professor Sprout will be livid when she finds out one of her students almost got killed, being attacked by you. I don't know how Dumbledore and I are going to explain this to her." 

 Harry looked up at Professor McGonagall with a worried face.  "But why should I be punished for something I didn't have any control of? I mean if Voldermort..." Harry stopped in mid-sentence, as he saw both Professor McGonagall and Ron jump at the mention of the name. He gave a deep sigh. "...if You-Know-Who is controlling me, I could get in trouble a lot more. I'll be expelled. This isn't fair." 

Professor McGonagall looked at him with pity. "I realize that it's not, Mr. Potter, but until we can find a way to get You-Know-Who out of your head, I'm afraid that you're going to have to be put in detention every week day after class, and that you're not to be permitted to go to Hogsmeade for the time being either. It's not safe for you outside the school," she said.

"Doesn't look like it's too safe for him inside the school either," said Ron.

 Professor McGonagall stood up and took the glowing orb off her desk, and put it in her pocket.  "I'm going to go get Professor Sprout, and have her come to the headmaster's office with me. Just go to the Gryffindor dorm. I'll have a house elf bring dinner up to you. Don't eat in the Great Hall tonight.  I think that after what you both told me that you need to avoid Hufflepuffs for a while," she finished, and left. 

Harry and Ron got up and headed to the Gryffindor dorm, getting dirty looks from a few Hufflepuffs as they did. Evidently word had spread fast, but no one tried to molest them.

~*~

Cho Chang sat on the lavatory toilet with her Herbology book open, trying to concentrate as she read the same sentence over again for the seventh time, still not understanding what it said. She was in the rest room because everywhere else that she tried to study, she heard people talking about how Harry had flipped out on the Quidditch pitch, and almost gotten a girl killed. At first, Cho had tried to argue with a couple of people in the library about it, but soon found that one of the people making the accusation was an eye witness on his own team, and Cho only ended up getting in heated argument defending Harry, just like last year. 

Still Cho knew that Harry had to have a good explanation for what he did, but she couldn't imagine what it might be. She worried about him, remembering Walsh's threats, and her worrying made it all that much harder to concentrate on her studies. She really had to talk to Harry about it soon, but couldn't send owls back and forth. _Oh, if only the Wizarding world had phones, like the Muggles did, especially cellular phones_ , Cho thought _.  I could just call him up, and ask him to explain. He would have a good excuse and I could explain it to my friends._ The friends she was trying to avoid right now, because in her common room that's all they were talking about as well, and Cho never liked to hear what Beverly said about Harry. 

Also Cho and Beverly had gotten in another fight about the Crumple Horned Snorkack. After Cho had explained to Beverly that it was real, Beverly had accused Cho of still trying to cover up for Luna's overactive imagination and refused to go down to the fenced in area behind Professor Hagrid's hut to confirm that it was true. Her other room mates were of like mind as Beverly, and that's why Cho was trying in vain to do her home work in the girls' lavatory. The thought of sneaking out to try and find the secret passage that led to the Gryffindor dorms, to visit Harry came to her, but she knew that she would not be able to find it anymore than she could find the second bewitched room. _Saturday at five thirty can't come soon enough_ , Cho thought, desperately wanting to see Harry. She closed her book; she couldn't concentrate anyway. She would just go to bed early tonight. Maybe she could try and do her homework tomorrow. _I had better_ , she thought, _because I'm nowhere close to where I need to be, marks-wise._  Cho made her way back to her dorm room and flung herself down on the bed. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to set in.

~*~

Harry was frustrated. Many of his own team didn't believe him about his mind being erased. He tried to tell them about You-Know-Who being in his head, but he wasn't able to divulge all the information to them, as it would give away stuff about the Order. There were still students who believed him, about half, but he had fallen out of favor with enough of his fellow Gryffindors, for it to hurt him. He wondered what Fiona and Cho would think of him. As he was sitting at a table, talking to Ron in the common room, he heard a familiar voice speak to him.

"Harry Potter, Dobby brings you dinner," came the familiar voice of his friend and favorite house elf. Dobby snapped his fingers and the table in front of Harry and Ron was filled with delicious food and pudding. Harry smiled, and his stomach gave a grumble, He hadn't had anything to eat since lunch.

"Dobby! Oh thanks! How have you been?" Harry asked. 

Dobby smiled at Harry.  "Dobby has been very good; Dobby is just back from his holiday at the Hogwarts Lake. Dobby has enjoyed it very much, and will go again next week." Ron raised an eyebrow.

"The lake? Doesn't sound like much of a holiday to me. You could go to Wales or something if you wanted too," Ron stated matter-of-factly.

"Dobby is not wanting to stay too far away from Hogwarts, as Dobby may be needed," Dobby said proudly.

 A thought came to Harry. He leaned down to Dobby.  "Hey Dobby, have you or any of the other house elves heard anything about a bewitched, ghost-proof room?" he asked. 

Dobby nodded his head enthusiastically.  "Yes! Dobby knows the room! The caretaker Mr. Filch has that room. The ghost loves that room." Dobby said.

"Err... no I mean another bewitched room. Do you know of any other one?" Harry asked. Dobby scratched his head, trying to think for a minute.

"Hummm... no...Dobby..."

Suddenly they were interrupted by an agitated voice.

"Oy! What's this? How come Potter gets to eat in the common room? Didn't he try and kill someone today? How is that fair?" came the voice of Devin Smith, a fifth year Gryffindor. 

Harry and Ron turned to look at him with angry looks on their faces.

"Look, Smith, Harry wasn't responsible for what happened on the pitch today. How can you make such an accusation?" Ron retorted. 

Smith gave a chuckle.  "Because Katie Bell told someone about it right in front of me... of course I heard about it all day today from a lot of people, but Katie was an eye witness. So it looks like if you almost kill someone... the school gives you dinner in the common room. Very interesting."

Ron shot up out of his chair, his face red with anger, and Smith stepped back a few steps.

"Dam it, Smith, don't you read the papers? Harry must have been under the control of You-Know-Who." Ron said, and at the mention of the most evil wizard in history, the room went quiet, and all eyes turned on Harry, Ron, and Smith.

"Look, it's simply like this: today Potter attacked a fellow student. Now I think that if You-Know-Who was here, then the Headmaster would have known about it and warned us. But then again, I hear that Potter may have the Headmaster under the _Imperius_ curse." Smith added, and the room started to boo him and pelt him with paper for the statement. 

Ron smiled.  "It looks like no one here shares your assessment of the situation, Smith. Everyone knows what a hero Harry is for what he did at the Ministry last year, and soon we'll get to the bottom of all this, and find You-Know-Who, and prove that what happened to Harry today wasn't his fault. And as far as the food goes, well until we get our proof, Harry will just have to stay away from the Hufflepuffs until they cool down. 

Smith looked angrily at Ron.  "Well there have been some alternative thoughts as to what exactly did go on at the Ministry last year, and how much of what you and Harry said was true," Smith said with increasing hostility. To this the students pelted him with more paper, and several shouts for Smith to leave the common room were heard. 

Seamus Finnigan walked up to him.  "Now look here, Smith. I doubted Harry's story last year as well, but... well I was wrong about him then, and you're wrong about him now. Harry's word is enough proof to me, but if you want proof of his deeds, just read the _Daily Prophet_ ," Seamus argued. 

Smith gave a sarcastic smile. "Well, last year he was a villain in that paper, and this year a hero... but the year is just begun. I wonder what the paper will say about Potter in a month." Smith finished with a cold smile across his face. 

Harry suddenly appeared from behind Seamus and got into Smith's face.

"And just what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean, Smith?" Harry asked. 

Smith put up his hands in defense, and smiled widely.  "Oh, nothing. Just that the papers seem to be confused about your role as hero or villain, and you might end up as the latter if you keep attacking fellow students," he said cautiously.

"I didn't attack anyone. At least not of my own free will. But I'm going to make sure that it doesn't happen again." Harry said confidently. 

Smith's smile now turned to a frown.  "Well, see that you do quickly... or else no student in this school will be safe from _The Harry Potter,"_ Smith said, and walked back to his bedroom, being jeered and pelted with paper from fellow Gryffindors as he did.  
  
---


	26. Chapter 26: Screams from the Gryffindor Tower.

  
**Sigh** Okay… where was I? Um, well this chapter sounds a little dirty, but I’ve tried to be as discreet as possible. More of Hermione not speaking to Ron, and well… other stuff. A surprise awaits next chapter at Hagrid’s hut, and I’ll see everyone then.Thanks again to all of you for reading, I'll try to finish this off as soon as possible,Highice007

 

  

**Chapter 26: Screams from the Gryffindor Tower.**

Harry started up the stairs to his dorm room followed closely by Ron. Suddenly he came to an abrupt stop, and turned around. "Bugger! I forgot to get my wand out of Filch's office. I'll be right back, Ron." He started to pass Ron on his way back down stairs. Ron grabbed Harry's arm.

"Wait a minute Harry. I've been meaning to ask you about that since we left Professor McGonagall's office. You _did_ say you left it there, but you used it in the game to knock Miggins off her broom, when you got close to her. Katie Bell saw You, but she didn't want to say anything because she didn't think that anyone else did see that that's how you unseated Miggins, and... well we thought that if anyone found out that you had used a wand during a Quidditch game that you would never be allowed on the pitch again. I think from most people's viewpoint you just hit her when you got to close, which is still bad, but not as bad as what it would be if anyone found that you used magic. But anyway what I'm really trying to ask is why did you tell Professor McGonagall that you had lost your wand in Filch's office, when we went straight from the Quidditch pitch to her office, and you had it on the pitch?" Ron asked quizzically.

 Harry shook his head.  "What are you talking about Ron? I haven't had my wand since I left Filch's office, for punishment, for running in the halls."  

Ron raised an eyebrow.  "When were you running in the hall? And you did have your wand at the pitch. Err... Harry check your robe pockets for a minute," he said carefully. 

Harry looked at Ron as if he was joking, but started rummaging through his pockets anyway.  "Come on Ron, I told you I left it....in...Filch's...office." Harry slowly spoke the last few words as he, with a look of genuine shock on his face, lifted a wand out from under his robe. Ron and Harry looked at the wand in awe, as if it was something that they had never seen before. 

"You really believed it didn't you?" Ron said sincerely.  "You really believed that that wand was in Filch's office?" Harry nodded his head. "Again, Harry. Do you ever remember Filch stopping you for running in the halls?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head. "Well neither do I. But I do remember Pansy Parkinson coming in yo class with that note from Filch. Did she go into his office with you?" Ron persisted. 

Harry closed his eyes trying to remember.  "I don't remember. I don't... think so."

"Well, maybe we can ask Pansy Parkinson what Filch told her, but I don't think she'll be too willing to help us, being in Slytherin and all," Ron reasoned. 

Harry put his wand back in his robe, and started heading upstairs, but once more turned to face Ron.  "We'll have to get this all sorted out tomorrow, Ron. Don't forget we have to be at the Room of Requirement at five thirty," Harry said. Ron nodded, and Harry heard a familiar voice from the top of the stairs call his name. As Harry looked back up towards the direction of the voice, he was blinded by a bright flash, and heard a loud pop. Harry closed his eyes but could still see the shape of the flash bulb in his mind. **"Colin!"** Harry shouted, his eyes still closed.

"Sorry Harry, but I'm trying to use up the last film in this set, I really didn't want to use any of the pictures that I took of you today at the Quidditch pitch because I didn't want them to incriminate you. But I have-like--seventeen frames left, and I just didn't want to waste them." Colin Creevey said apologetically.

"You took pictures of me at the pitch today?" Harry asked. 

Colin nodded.  "Yeah, but I gave up after a while; you were spending too much time attacking the Hufflepuffs--and encouraging others to as well." 

Harry opened his eyes, and started back toward his dorm room.  "And what do you believe about what happened today Colin?" Harry asked. 

Colin smiled.  "Well, I believe you of course. That you were under the control of You-Know-Who," Colin said. 

Harry put a hand on Colin's shoulder.  "Thanks Colin, but next time you take my picture... make sure I'm ready, okay?" Harry asked.

"Sure thing, Harry. Do you want to finish up the roll now?" he asked eagerly. Harry shook his head telling him that it was late, and that it would have to be another time.

Harry arrived in the Great Hall greeted, as usual by several students, who asked him about what went on at the Ministry of Magic last year. It seemed that people could never get enough information on it. But today Harry was getting other questions as well, questions about what happened on the Quidditch pitch yesterday. One student asked if Harry really pulled a knife on Cindy Miggins, another asked if it was true that Harry tried to turn her into a troll. _How stupid_ , he thought. _Why do untrue rumors spread so fast at Hogwarts? And why are some of them so farfetched._

~*~

Shouts of passion and a slamming of wood against stone emanated from the Gryffindor tower, and they could be heard in every dorm room. It was keeping everyone awake. Harry, Ron, and Neville stood over Seamus Finnigan's bed, embarrassed, with dropped jaws, listing to his cries of ecstasy. Seamus was thrashing about moaning, and screaming with great pleasure, and the head rest of his bed was slamming against the wall.

" **Yes! Yes! Oh god you're sooo hot! Come on baby! Do it to me! Oh... Marietta! I'm coming! I... ahhhhh!"** Seamus shouted in his enviable dream. 

Neville shook his head, and looked at Ron.  "Well, someone has to wake him up again, or none of us will get any sleep," he said. 

Harry turned his head away.  "Gross! He's bloody mental! How can he just dream like that all night?" He looked up to see a few more Gryffindors gathered at the door. Among them was Vince Garfield, a seventh year Prefect.

"Look, not that I don't envy Mr. Finnigan his dreams, but I have to get some sleep, and some of the girls can here him clear in their rooms. You three have to keep him quiet, or no one is going to get any sleep!" said Garfield sleepily.

 Ron sighed and shook Seamus violently awake.  " **Wake up! You horny Irish git! Get up--now!"** Ron screamed. Seamus opened his eyes with a start and sat up in bed.

"What! What's going on?" he asked, surprised. 

Harry gave him an angry look.  "The same bloody thing that's been going on the last three times we woke you up! You're fantacizing about that girl again. You have to stop! We all need some sleep, and everyone in the castle can hear you. Are you mental or something?" Harry said annoyed. 

Seamus now had an upset look on his face.  "Look I... can't help my dreams. I've never dreamed like this in my life. It's the most vivid dream that I've ever had. It's awesome," he said nervously. 

Ron gave a great sigh.  "Yeah... well, good for you. We can all see that you're enjoying yourself, but try not to do it anymore or everyone's going to throw you out the window."  By now a large collection of guys was gathered at the door, much to everyone's embarrassment, and Colin Creevey entered the room in excitement.

"Hey guys, one of the female students has a spell to cure him of the noise he's making! She wants to come in and put a spell on him... just for tonight. Is it okay if she comes in real quick?" he asked. 

Seamus blushed.  "Ab... absolutely not! Look I won't dream any more tonight. Let's not bring a girl into this," he said nervously.

"Sorry, Finnigan, but you're even keeping the girls awake." Harry said. He looked around at the walls of the room. "Funny... you'd think that these would be sound proof... being stone and all. Oh well, send her in, Colin," Harry said with a shrug. 

Colin ran down stairs for a minute, and came back up into the room quickly. A Gryffindor girl then parted her way through the crowd and into the dorm room. 

Ron gasped.  "Her...Hermione!" he shouted in surprise. 

Hermione looked at him for a second with an unreadable expression on her face, and then turned to Seamus. She put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled.  "Now listen Finnigan, there is nothing to be nervous about. I'm just going to hit you with a light, easily removed jinx to make your voice inaudible, for tonight, and in the morning, I'll remove the jinx. That way you can dream away without bothering anyone, okay?" she said softly. Seamus nodded, and Hermione applied the jinx with a flick of her wand, and a quick blue flash. After a few seconds of silence Colin spoke.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"Only one way to find out." said Ron. "Oy, Seamus, don't forget to leave a note to the house elves to change your soiled sheets," Ron jested. Seamus looked at Ron angrily, and his mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Ron smiled.

"Yea, it worked. Harry, help me push his bed away the wall." Harry did so, and after they had moved the bedpost a few centimeters away from the wall, Ron turned to Seamus with a smile. "Well Finnegan, you're all set! Now you can have all the sweet dreams you want. By the way, who were you dreaming about? Marietta who?" Ron inquired. Seamus mouthed something in silence, but still no sound emanated from him.

"Leave him alone, Ron; let him be at peace," Hermione said coldly. She then looked at Seamus. "Okay, just meet me down in the common room tomorrow around eleven, as I plan to sleep late, and I'll remove the jinx, and you'll be as good as new," she said. Everyone clapped, and started heading to their respective rooms.

 When it was just the four roommates, and Hermione, Ron spoke.  "Well done, Hermione!" he said as he clapped in approval. "How did you know about that jinx?" he asked. Hermione put her nose in the air, and told Harry to inform Ron that unless he was willing to have a committed relationship that she had nothing to say to him. 

Ron gave a great sigh.  "Oh come on Hermione, surely you're not starting this again. Look, tomorrow's Saturday. I bet we could find a romantic place by the lake. What do you say?" Ron stated with a sly tone to his voice. 

Hermione started to smile.  "So you're really ready to make a commitment Ron?" she asked. 

Ron's face turned to a frown.  "Well... uh... no, but I thought that we could go out on a date tomorrow, and... you know do some snogging.  Wouldn't that be romantic?" Ron asked happily. 

Hermione was livid.  " **Damn it Ronald Wesley! What the hell is wrong with you! I'm through trying to win you over! You want to date other people? Okay then. But you can forget about ever dating me ever. I'd rather kiss a Crumple Horned Snorkack!"**

 Ron slammed down his hand on his mattress in anger.  " **Fucking hell, what's your problem?!** I just asked you out, and you're still mental over me not wanting to commit. I told you my reasons; now you need to respect them and stop being so stupid. Just go out with me tomorrow.  We'll have fun without worrying about being committed," Ron said agitated. 

Hermione clenched her fist.  " **Look Ron, I..."** but she was interrupted by Vince Garfield leaning his head in the room and clearing his throat.

"Excuse me Miss Granger," he said casually.  "I'm very grateful that you took care of Seamus's _problem_ and all, but I think that you need to go back to the girls' dorm, as now _you two_ are keeping me awake."  Hermione, embarrassed, started to leave.

 Ron looked on very sad that they wouldn't be going out tomorrow. He crawled into bed and shut his eyes knowing that he would have another chance to patch things up at the Room of Requirement and Hagrid's house. Harry also looked on, sad that his friends were fighting, and realizing that he would have to take Occlumency lessons again with Snape, as he was still too angry at Dumbledore to want to talk to him yet. Harry really hated the idea of going to Snape on his own after last year, but was hoping that Snape would agree, as it was to stop Voldermort from controlling him. Still there was nothing else good about being in the same room with Severus Snape, and if he didn't agree than Harry would have to go to Dumbledore for help.

Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Ron, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, who were already eating their eggs, bacon, and toast. Harry looked at Seamus. "Can you talk, Seamus?" he asked. 

Seamus gave a nod.  "Aye, me throat feels a little dry, but otherwise good as new."  Harry then started talking to Ron in a whisper about going to Hagrid's hut, and how tomorrow they needed to get the pitch reserved for some practice, as Harry wasn't sure if it would be his last for a while.

"Damn it Ron, if any nonsense this year gets in the way of me playing Quidditch, I'm going to go mental. I had to put up with too much last year, and it's not going to happen again," Harry complained. Ron gave him a pat on the back, and reassured him that Dumbledore would get to the bottom of everything. Harry wasn't comforted at the Head Master's name being brought up; he still was angry at him not being at Sirius's funeral. After a bit of chat, Harry overheard Seamus mention a familiar name that gave him his undivided attention.

"Seamus, what did you just say?" Harry asked. Seamus turned to him, and spoke.

"Oh, I was just asking Dean what he thought about Marietta Edgecombe," Seamus said casually. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Dean answered first.

"She's cute. I'd give her one," Dean said. Harry's face tightened up as if he had just drunk a goblet of pure lemon juice.

"Cute? She's an absolute hag!" Harry said with anger. _Wow!_ he thought, _am I really that upset about what happened to my DA class?_ Or was it just that Marietta was sneaking around the castle all the time. Or was it... that she was the reason why he and  Cho had broken up. _No... that, that couldn't be it,_  he thought, _could it?_ Dean looked over at the Ravenclaw table at Marietta Edgecombe, who was talking to some other Ravenclaw girls, and a Slytheren prefect. He looked Marietta over casually, and turned back to Harry.

"No Potter, you're mistaken, she actually is pretty cute. Has a bit of a posh attitude, but really cute," Dean said.

"Thomas she got my DA classes busted up last year. She's an evil traitor to this school," Harry said. 

Dean gave a jovial smile.  "Ha, look, Potter, I thought you meant physically beautiful, which she is. Now if you mean personality-wise... well I don't know her well enough for that. She's just... really cute. I mean I've seen better, but she's not really bad at all. Besides I don't think turning in your DA class makes her so bad. No offence, Potter, but last year everyone thought you were a bit of a criminal. The papers were saying so, so maybe she was under the same impression. I have to admit that even I wasn't sure about you for the most part. I joined the DA to rebel against Umbridge, but I was never really sure myself. Then after everything with the Ministry came out in the papers... that's when I knew. So I understand, even though I almost got in trouble for it."

 Harry looked at Dean, disappointed.  "I can't believe that you didn't support me from the beginning, Dean."

"Sorry, Potter... but look at it from my point of view, you had the papers against you, the Ministry, and most of the school. I mean almost no one other than Ron and Hermione got your back from the beginning," he said casually. 

Harry looked over at the Ravenclaw table for Cho, but didn't see her.  "Yeah, well, I know some others who were there from the beginning," he said, thinking of Cho. 

Seamus stood up with a determined look in his eyes.  "Well... I'm going to go talk to her. I mean that was last year, and... I've been thinking about Marietta since last ni... err I mean, I've been thinking about her a lot lately."  

Harry's face became bitter again.  "How could you do that Finnigan?  I'm telling you, you can't trust her.   Hold on.   Is _she_ the Marietta that you were screaming about last night?" Harry asked. 

Seamus was suddenly embarrassed.  "Hey! Shut up about that Potter. Don't discuss that," he said annoyed and walked off to the Ravenclaw table. Harry, Ron, and Dean watched as he chatted up Marietta. She was smiling, and seemed to be quite taken with Seamus. She got up, smiled to her friends, and walked out of the Great Hall arm and arm with him. 

Dean slammed his fork down on the table, and smiled.  "Damn! How does he always pick up girls like that? Luck of the Irish I suppose. Well good for him," Dean finished.

Harry and Ron got up to leave.  "It's not just the DA classes, Ron... there is something I just don't like about her," Harry said. 

Ron nodded in agreement.  "Yeah, you're right... but so is Dean. She is really cute." 

Harry rolled his eyes.  "Come on. We're going to Hagrid's. Let's get Hermione." 

~*~

A few moments later the trio was walking down the path to Hagrid's hut, and the tension was very thick. Hermione was still not speaking to Ron, and Harry was forced to act as a go-between when she said things like, "Tell Ron I'm not interested in what he's talking about." But Harry did finally get Hermione to agree to a truce when they reached Hagrid's. "One thing I don't understand Hermione: how did you know to put that jinx on Seamus? I mean we never studied that one in Defense Against Dark Arts." Harry said.

 Hermione smiled.  "Oh, that. I studied that one on my own during second year. One of my roommates has a terrible snoring problem, and it was a good fix... Ahhhhhh!" Hermione suddenly screamed, and Harry and Ron looked to where she was staring. The door to Hagrid's hut had a blood trail leading up to it. Harry and Ron could see puddles of the stuff trailing into the forest. The three rushed the door and banged loudly, screaming for Hagrid.

" **Alright! Alright! Just a minute!"** came the agitated voice from the inside of the hut. After a few seconds Hagrid appeared with a bandaged arm. Splotches of gore were also visible on the bandage. He looked down at Harry and his mates in surprise.

"Oh! You're here early. I wasn't expecting you till tea time. Err... come in please," Hagrid said casually, as if it were normal for Harry to see him with a bandage on his arm.

"Hagrid... What happened? Was it the Snorkack?" Hermione enquired. Hagrid gave a difficult smile.

"Oh nooo. It twern't Frosty. He's a gentle sort. I wish I could say it was nothing, but... well, come on in, and I'll explain." Hagrid said, worried.


	27. Chapter 27: La Bastille

  


**Chapter 27: _La Bastille_ **

The two students sat in the empty dungeon classroom snogging heavily. Marietta Edgecombe ran her hand across Seamus's shirted chest, as he rubbed her leg with his hand. They had been at it for several minutes, when Marietta slowly pulled away from him and stood up from the bench on which they both sat. Marietta put her hand in his and lightly pulled him up as well. "You know Seamus; we could get caught by a teacher here. I know a room more private. A room that no one else knows about. Why don't we go there?" she said with a flirtatious smile. 

Seamus gave her a broad smile back.  "It's the teachers' day off. They have better things to do than get after students. Besides... we're just snogging. They couldn't do anything too bad to us other than a lecture." He ran his hands through her reddish hair. 

Marietta bent down to kiss him again, sticking her tongue down his throat and massaging his mouth with it. She soon withdrew it and put her lips close to his ear.  "You know, in this room that I know about, we can _do more_ than just snogging." She put her hand on his crotch. Seamus became aroused and also stood up, with some difficulty.

"And-um--where would this room be now?" he asked keeping his voice casual as he spoke. 

Marietta giggled.  "It's a _surprise._ Just follow me. I promise you, you'll be impressed," She said in a sensual tone, her hand still in his.

"Well then, lead on, my dear." He smiled gingerly.

Marietta picked up her back pack and led Seamus through several corridors, down two flights of stairs and around many corners until she finally came to a stop at a dark corner of the castle. She put her back pack down and began to rummage through it. Seamus looked at her, confused. "Err... where are we going, Marietta? Why are we stopping here?" he asked, suspicious. 

Marietta looked up at him with a smile.  "Seamus... can I trust you with a secret?" she asked. 

Seamus straightened up and crossed his arms.  "Of course, you can... what secret?" 

Marietta produced an Invisibility Cloak from her back pack, and showed it to him.  "This secret!" she said with an air of posh.

Seamus's eyes went wide as he gazed in wonder at the excessively rare cloak. He held it in his hands for a few minutes and tried it on, except for his head. He looked down at his missing body and laughed.

"Bloody amazing! Where did you get it? Have you got another one?" he asked excited.

 Marietta whispered into his ear lovingly that she had several more surprises in store for him, but that he must trust her, and do what she said from here until they reached the room that they sought, and that he could ask questions there. Seamus agreed, and Marietta instructed him to let them both under the cloak and follow her closely so that they would both be under it at all times. 

The two passed through many more passageways and doors until they came to the empty room, lit by a single torch. Marietta instructed Seamus to remove the cloak and hand it to her. After he did, and she had secured it back into her back pack, she walked over to the part of the wall with the round rock with the black teardrop on it, and the depression in the floor. She physically pushed in the rock, and a rubbing sound was heard. 

Seamus stepped back, surprised, as the wall melted away in front of him. He looked back up at Marietta with wide eyes.  "Um... Marietta. Where are you taking me?" he asked a little apprehensive. 

Marietta moved to him and kissed him on the neck.  "Don't be afraid Seamus, you're really going to find this interesting. Just trust me."  

Seamus was still aroused, and although he was feeling uneasy about something, the prospect of getting laid by this delicious creature won out, and he followed Marietta over the depression in the floor. Marietta pushed the stone, which was still suspended in midair, in the opposite direction, and the wall reformed behind them. " _Luminos_!" she shouted, as her wand lit the narrow corridor. She grabbed Seamus's hand and led him down a long stretch, finally stopping at the black rock wall. She pushed open the wall slightly and put her wand just inside waving it around for a few seconds. Finally Marietta pushed open the wall fully to reveal a brightly lit bedroom/bathroom combo full of canned foods, water bottles, and candles. In the center was a bed that Marietta sat on, and she beckoned Seamus to come to do the same. 

He sat next to her, very confused.  "Alright Marietta... what's this all about? How did you know about this place?" Seamus started, a little agitated. 

Marietta stood up, kicked off her shoes and started removing her skirt.  "I'll tell you. But first I want to have some fun. Come on... can't it wait just a little? Why don't you undress?" she said in a sexy tone as she loosened her tie. Seamus decided that the explanation could wait for now and began to remove his clothes. "Wait... I'll do it for you," she said playfully. As she undressed him, she would pause every few seconds to kiss him lovingly on his neck. After she had removed all of his clothes she picked them up, along with his wand, and moved them to the corner of the room by the closet. She turned to Seamus, smiling, wearing just her knickers, and holding her wand in her hand.

"Now, Seamus, let me tell you a little bit about this room. It has enough food and water in here for about six months. Also there are enough toiletries for about the same period of time: dental floss, tooth paste, toilet paper, et cetera. The bath room has hot water, and an air duct leading to the grounds above, too small for a person to fit in, can provide a person good oxygen. The room is heavily sound proofed, and ghost pr..." 

Seamus interrupted her.  "Look Marietta, I know that I asked about the room, and, believe me, I do want to know about it, but ... well, like you said... it can wait. Let's... you know." He was very aroused at seeing Marietta so scantily clad. 

Marietta put her head down for a moment, and when she brought it back up, had a mischievous grin on her face.  "Oh Seamus, honey. You can't have me today, but I promise you're going to have the most wonderful dreams about me for the rest of the year **. You can come out now love!"** she shouted, and the closet door opened. 

Seamus's jaw dropped.  "What?" he said in confusion.  He became white with fright as he saw himself walk out of the closet wearing only briefs. 

Marietta's look turned sinister now as she pointed her wand at Seamus, and a tinge of fear ran up his spine.

"His clothes are at your feet, his wand too. Put them on right away," she said with a tone of authority. She looked at Seamus with a slight smile. "Now, as I said, you have enough supplies to last six months. There is some cleaner in the bathroom to keep the place nice, and remember to brush your teeth. I was kind enough to leave a book under your pillow to entertain you. I suggest that you read slowly... I'm sorry to have to do this, but your being here is of great importance to society. You're actually helping the wizarding world by being here." Marietta said as she looked back to see the other Seamus Finnigan buckling his belt, and putting Seamus's wand into his pocket.

"Marietta what... what are you talking about? Who is he, and why does he look like me, and why are you pointing a wand at me?" Seamus let out in a nervous state of confusion. He started to approach her before she answered, but she raised her wand to eye level.

" **Stop! Don't make me hurt you Seamus. I don't want you damaged, but if you take one step closer I'll let you have it,"**   she shouted in a highly hostile tone. 

Seamus was really afraid now, and froze in place, watching his mirror image pick up Marietta's clothes and back pack, and leave the room behind her, telling her to hurry up. Marietta backed slowly out of the room, to the other side of the door.   Seamus started toward her.  "Marietta... please don't leave me here!" he pleaded. 

She smiled at him as the wall began to close between them.  "Goodbye Mr. Finnigan... remember to keep clean. Remember to keep in shape," she said casually as the wall shut between them. Seamus ran to the wall and pulled with all his might, trying to move it to no avail.

"Marietta... **Marietta** **! Why are you doing this to me!? Marietta!"** Seamus shouted, continuing in vain to try and pull the wall open.

On the other side of the wall, Marietta was putting her clothes back on after putting several locking spells on the door to make sure that Seamus didn't get out. "Now come along and have lunch with me in the Great Hall, love," she said after putting one more locking spell on the door. 

Her love looked at her confused.  "Hardly seems a necessary effort, Marietta... I mean seeing that I have his wand, all you needed was one spell," he said casually.

"Humph! You can never be too careful, my love. I've been planning the downfall of Potter and his kind for several months now, and I'm not about to let anything stop us. Every precaution must be taken. Seamus Finnigan must never leave that room _alive._ "

~*~

Harry and his mates listened intently to Hagrid as he finished his tale of what he had been up to over the summer holiday. At one point soon after school let out, he had returned to eastern Europe to find Grawp a wife, and also to try and convince more giants to join Dumbledore's side in the war. But when he got there, he only found one giant alive amongst a few gigantic rotting corpses. The giant, who happened to speak broken English, had told Hagrid that Voldermort had convinced the giants that if they sided with him, after the war was over he would allow them to run free over any area of Europe they wished, so long as they agreed to never cross the Channel to the United Kingdom. He had also procured for them several bars of gold and other items, such as miles of material for making clothes and several items to counter the spells of wizards. He also had reminded them of the harsh treatment that the wizarding world had visited on them as well. All this combined to convince most to join the cause of the Dark Lord. Some, who had elected either to side against Voldermort or stay neutral, had been killed by the rest of the giants at the orders of the new "Giant King" Rasala. Soon after the giant finished telling this story to Hagrid, he passed on. Hagrid had spent several weeks looking for the others, but to no avail. They just seemed to have disappeared.

Hagrid had returned from Europe to check on Grawp and make sure that he was okay and adapting to his new environment, only to find that the centaurs were abusing him again in an attempt to get him to leave the forest. Hagrid had never exactly made friends with any of the centaurs before, except Firenze, but before Firenze had been banished, Hagrid had always been able to consider them acquaintances. But now their leader, Magorian, had given orders to kill Hagrid if he entered "their forest" again. 

"Well anyway I been entering the forest at night regardless of tha edict, ta make sure that Gramp's okay, and I've been good at avoiding them... but, well I guess I just let my guard down last night. One of em got me with an arrow. Madam Pomfrey patched me up a bit, but I had ta go before she was finished, because I couldn't listen to her lecture me anymore about going out there. O' course I couldn't tell her about Grawp," Hagrid said intently. He gave a great sigh. "Well anyway its very dangerous for me ta go into the forest now because I also winged one of the centaurs in the arm with my crossbow."  He put his head down in despair. "Dam it, kids... the forest doesn't belong to them. It doesn't belong to anyone. Dumbledore tried to convince them ta join him in his fight against You-Know-Who, but it only seemed to anger them more. And they said ta stay out of "their forest!" I'm tired of it all."  Hagrid sipped his tea.

Harry looked at Hagrid with concern and pity. He had clearly had a bad summer, just as Harry did, and now the centaurs were even keeping him from the forest and attacking his brother. But Harry was also keen to ask something else of Hagrid. "Hagrid... what has Dumbledore been up to all this summer?" 

Hagrid looked up at him weakly.  "He's been away from Hogwarts all summer, Harry. There have been a lot of unexplained deaths, some murders. He was investigating them and looking for You-Know-Who and what was left of his lot. He interviewed several Death Eaters at Azkaban and went to the jail in the Ministry of Magic to interrogate Luscious Malfoy. But I don't think that he got any information out of him. He still claims that he was under the _Imperius_ curse. Also he had to meet with many of the vampire royalty in the UK and Europe to find out their intentions in the coming war... ya know: with us, against us, or neutral. I guess he was concerned that some of 'em were working for You-Know-Who after that poor Hufflepuff girl died in Dover. But that has kept 'im very busy." Hagrid leaned toward the three students with a very serious look on his face. "There's a _war_ coming, friends, and we need to know who our allies are!"  

His words seemed to darken the room, and all three students had chills down their spines. Ron was the first to speak up, with a gulp.  "Hag... Hagrid... do you know anything about the ghost proof-room in Filch's office?" 

Hagrid thought for a second.  "Well, he told me that his brother made it.  It was ta keep people from his private business, and that it was also to keep Peeves from destroying it. I asked if he could tell me the spell that his brother used, and he told me to mind my own business. Funny thing though... even Dumbledore didn't know that Filch had a brother,o" Hagrid said curiously. He gave a light chuckle. "Well I guess ya can never know someone ya don't try to get real close to after all these years. Never liked Filch to much, always wanting ta go back to the days where ya could torture children. So I never went into his business really." 

Harry looked at his bewitched watch. It read five-oh-five. He looked up at Hagrid.  "Hagrid... we have to go for now. Do you want us to sneak out tonight and check on Grawp?"

"What!" Ron and Hermione shot in unison. 

Harry looked at them, casually.  "Don't worry.  We can use the Invisibility Cloak, and they never hurt foals... err... children, do they?" 

"No Harry... ya can't go in there anymore. The centaurs have become unpredictable, and even though Magorian has been able to keep them in line... well a few of them have the potential to be as evil as a Death Eater. I mean they keep to themselves for the most part.  That's their way... but well I get the feeling some of them have the idea that things should be different. There seems to be a territorial issue growing amongst them--that whole, "Our Forest" thing, yer know. One particular member amongst the lot--name of Bane--has had a few disagreements with the chief about me," Hagrid said in a secretive tone. 

Hermione raised an eyebrow.  "Hagrid... how could you possibly know all this?" she asked with sincerity.

 A guilty look came across his face.  "Well... ta be quite honest, one of the things I was doing in the forest was spying on the centaurs. Ta see what they were up to. I usually stay out of sight, but I got a little to close this time, and well... they must have caught wind of me. Anyway, don't any of you go into the forest for any reason. I'll take care of my brother. I would like ta see ya all next week for tea if it pleases ya." 

The three students nodded, and after a few parting pleasantries were walking towards the castle. Harry suddenly remembered something and called Hermione over to speak with her alone for a second. Not a problem, as she still even now was barely speaking to Ron, and the tension between the two of them was thick. Harry looked at her in a very serious manner.

"Hermione, you have to apologize to Luna. You know that don't you?" Harry said. 

Hermione nodded.  "Yes, I know, Harry.... I didn't mean to be so... well... I just... I will apologize. But don't expect me to be too friendly toward her. She is trying to take Ron away from me. I didn't mean to say that to her, but I don't want to get to close to her, understand?" 

 Harry nodded.  "Look just be civil and courteous, okay? I need you two to get along, and competition or not, she's a nice girl, and she's not doing anything wrong. Ron's not looking for a commitment with her either," Harry finished. 

Hermione nodded her agreement, and the three continued on their way to the castle past students swimming and lounging by the lake in their swimsuits. As they passed they saw Professor McGonagall chastising a few girls for the scantiness of their swim suits, and saying that she was going to recommend a new dress code for swimwear next year to the Headmaster. In a short time they would be at the room of requirement, and Harry would get to see Cho again. But why was he so excited about it? They were just friends, that's what he wanted... wasn't it?"


	28. Chapter 28: Sharing Intelligence

Hello everyone, back again, with another chapter. Um… well Here everyone is taking their collective intelligence, and putting the pieces together. Not a lot of action here, but some attraction, and I’ll let you decide how good it is. Enjoy, and thanks for the reviews.

Sincerely,

Highice007

 

   **28: Sharing Intelligence**

When Harry and his mates entered the room of requirement Cho and Luna were already there waiting for them. They were sitting at a long table, Cho looking sad as usual, and Luna was happily reading an issue of the Quibbler. They both looked up as the Gryffindors entered the room. “Hello Ron! Harry… Hermione.” Luna said with a joyful tone that turned to one of uncertainty at the end. Hermione sensed this, and walked cautiously over to Luna, with an upset expression on her face. She put her head down for a moment and then raised it.

“Luna, um… I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn’t mean to yell at you, and call you a liar, and you were right about the Snorack anyway. So… I’m sorry about it, really.” Hermione said with guarded sincerity. Luna smiled, and hugged Hermione, to Hermione’s surprise.

“That’s Okay Hermione! I knew that you were just having a bad day, or something. We all have them and sometimes say things we don’t mean. I forgive you and I’m glad that were still friends.” Luna said happily. She then went to Ron and put her hand in his. Hermione looked at Luna hiding the anger, and pain in her heart. “Friends?” she thought. Hermione turned to look at Cho and they stared at each other for a moment, each with unreadable faces. Finally Cho lowered her eyes and nodded to Hermione as an indication that the apology had been enough. But Cho still had a sad expression in her eyes that never seemed to go away. Everyone exchanged pleasantry greetings.

Harry gave a great sigh as he took a seat at the table opposite Cho, and Hermione and Ron followed suit with Luna sitting across from Ron and giving him a flirtatious smile. Hermione seeing this became angry at Ron for smiling back and moved closer to Harry to get away from Ron. Cho noticed Hermione’s actions to get close to Harry and felt her heart break all over again. Cho blinked back a tear, as Harry cleared his throat.

“Err… well it’s good to see you and Luna here Cho. I wanted to thank you both for coming. Well were all here to find out what Marietta Edgencombe is up to. Cho, Luna, Sir Nicholas, and the Gray Lady have been noticing some really suspicious things about her lately. Um well anyway I thought if we all worked together and sort of threw in everything we knew about the situation, we could find out what she’s up too.” Harry said awkwardly. “Um… I guess I’ll start. Well Hermione and Ron told me that Marietta is now Head Girl. We all know that by now, but were not sure how. Apparently she was chosen by the Head Master by recommendation of the Masters.” Harry said. Cho looked up at Harry and raised her hand. Harry smiled at her, thinking it cute. “You don’t need to raise your hand Cho. This isn’t the DA, and I’m not above anyone here. Were all a team trying to work together to solve a mystery. So please feel free to speak you mind without asking permission.” Harry said jovially. Cho blushed embarrassed.

“Well um… Jill Tanaka was our seventh year prefect last year, but… she couldn’t return to school, and let the staff know before the summer break. They had to find a replacement… and… Marietta, she… had very high marks. She always had the highest marks. So they made her a prefect. Also she helped Umbridge out a lot last year.” Cho said **. “But Harry, all of you… I didn’t know that she was helping her! You have to believe me! I’m really sorry. I thought that I could trust her. But she was working for Umbridge when I was not around her. Please forgive me Harry. I swear that I didn’t know!”** Cho pleaded, with tears streaming down her face, at her inability to see through her own former best friend. Harry who had been so mad at Cho on the train reached over and gave her a hug.

“Shhh… It’s okay Cho. No one blames you. I know that you didn’t mean to get the DA busted up. We all know it. That’s why your face wasn’t marked by the jinx. You’re among friends here.” Harry said comfortingly. Everyone told her that they were like minded with his assessment. Cho thanked them, and continued.

“Well… well anyway, Marietta, every year since I’ve known her has been really good at school. I mean she studied a lot like me, but she didn’t have to. Well she also was on a lot of committees too. So _that_ with her marks, and Umbridge sending her recommendations for the prefect and head girl position, she was able to get Head Girl.” Cho finished, sitting back down. Harry reflected on the information for a minute. He found himself staring at Cho and wanting to kiss her, to hold her. Why was he feeling this way about her? The crush was over. Harry fought to suppress the emotion from his mind. Concentrate on the business at hand Harry he told himself.

“How did you know about Umbridge giving her the recommendation Cho?” Harry asked curious. Cho opened her mouth to speak, but Luna beat her to the answer.

“She told us Harry. She came in our carriage to yell at Cho for sending her a howler, a week before, and… well Cho noticed the Head Girl badge on her, and confronted her about it. She had come in with Danielle Forester, and some Slytheren prefect, and pulled wands on us, and after our friend Beverly snuck up behind her, and disarmed them, she spilled her guts, warning her to watch out.” Luna said, as the collective jaws of the Gryffindors dropped.

“Marietta pulled wands on you?” Ron asked concerned, and a little angry. Cho and Luna nodded.

“Why did you send her a howler Cho?” Harry asked surprised.

“Well… she, she was talking about You, and My Muggle born and half blood friends, and she… she was talking about how she was going to hurt Miss Granger… . And she um, wanted me to stop speaking to any non pureblood friends I had. She mentioned something about how things were changing in the Wizarding world for the better, and I shouldn’t associate with Muggleborn people anymore. But I’ve come to find that Marietta and I have very different ideas about what _changes for the better mean.”_ Cho finished and was quite. Hermione was very touched by Cho’s statement.

“Thank you Cho. I’m really grateful that you’re not a hater like her. It was very good of you to stand up for us Muggleborn.” Hermione said with a smile. “I think that were going to be good friends.” Hermione finished. Cho gave a plastic smile. “Friends?” she thought to herself. Probably not. She really didn’t want to get close to Harry’s girlfriend. The pain was too much even now. She would settle on acquaintance, but could never be Hermione’s friend.

“I’m proud of you too Cho. I know that you would never side with the likes of Marietta. Especially after what happened to… well I know that you can be trusted.” Harry said cautiously. Harry didn’t say Cedric’s name, but Cho knew that He was referring to the death of her dead boyfriend, and the hurt that she had felt last year and at the end of the year came back, though a little more subtle. She was moving on from Cedric’s death, but it still hurt, and did you ever really get over someone who you cared about so deeply dieing? Especially dieing in such a tragic way. Cho buried her feelings deep; she had to concentrate right now. She had to help Harry. He needed her to focus.

“Now I’ll let everyone in on something as well. I talked to Nearly Headless Nick during the feast, and he had some interesting things to say about things that went on here over the summer. It seems that Marietta came to visit Filch, the caretaker of this castle, over the summer, along with his twin brother. They spent their time here ghost and poltergeist proofing his office. Sir Nicolas also told me that it always appeared that Marietta was the one giving orders, which is confusing, because she’s only a student at this school, and not on the staff… obviously. None of the ghost know what they were doing in there, but it was very dubious, whatever it was. We still don’t know what the connection between Marietta and Filch is but…” Harry stopped, as he was interrupted by Cho.

“Filch is Marietta’s Uncle.” She said softly. The Gryffindors let out a collective gasp.

“He’s Marietta’s what!” Harry asked not believing his ears. Cho kept her face expressionless, as she looked up at Harry and spoke.

“Well Luna, and I… we… we overheard her on night talking to Filch, and he was calling her niece, and she was calling him uncle. But… well Luna and I, we got the feeling that they didn’t like each other very much, and he was mad about her being in charge of something. Also he said that he was upset because he could never let Miss Norris out of the office, and Marietta mentioned something about having food, and water supplies for a few months, ready for a room that she was using, but even Filch didn’t know what it was for, and through their conversation Marietta made it very clear that she was in charge. I can only guess that the room might be the second ghost proof room that Marietta and Danielle were talking about the other day. But she’s been sneaking off sometimes to go see someone on some nights.” Cho finished. Harry scratched his head.

“Where do Marietta and Danielle chat about this and, what time does she leave at night to go see… whoever she sees?” Harry asked.

“She leaves past curfew on some nights. She and Danielle talk in the Ravenclaw common room when no one else was around. Luna and I were hiding under a common room table the first time we herd them.” Cho stated.

“Well than, I suppose that we should start with the paintings in the Ravenclaw common room, ask them if they heard anything you didn’t.” Harry started.

“Oh! Harry that won’t be possible, as Marietta freezes the paintings every night before she leaves, to keep them from noticing, but I can’t remember how the spell goes. We also didn’t see the manner in which she flicked the wand.” Luna burst out. The Gryffindors eyes went wide.

“What… what do you mean she freezes them?” Hermione asked confused. Luna turned to her.

“Well, Marietta cast some type of spell on them, and then they just… well freeze. They have no movement at all. Like pictures from the Muggle world. When she gets back she unfreezes them, and it’s as if they don’t remember anything at all.” Luna informed everyone.

“Fascinating!” said Harry. “Well we will have to have someone sneak into the library at night to look for a book that will produce such a charm. It’s likely to be in a restricted area, that we can’t get permission for.” Harry said. Luna shot out of her chair with a smile.

“Oh Cho and I can do that Harry, we’ve already snuck into the library once trying to follow Marietta after curfew…” Luna started but was cut off.

“ **Luna!”** Cho shot nervously, and began to blush red with embarrassment. She didn’t want Harry to know that they had snuck out at night to spy on Marietta. Even though she had broken the rules to go to Harry’s DA classes last year that was a noble cause that would allow her to support Harry. But Harry probably wouldn’t think well of her breaking the rules for something so minor. But then, wasn’t he talking about sneaking into the library now? Oh! This is so confusing, she thought. How am I supposed to act to get him to like me? Cho thought. Luna looked at Cho and smiled.

“Harry, Cho thinks that you wouldn’t approve of us sneaking out and doing stuff like this. Tell her how you feel about it.” Luna said proudly. Harry grinned.

“I absolutely approve of it. I mean it’s for a good cause, and well it’s become a hobby of mine since my first year here. Besides no one likes someone who’s a complete goodie two shoes. Sneaking out at night is okay with me Cho.” Harry smiled at her.

“Oh.” Was Cho’s only response. She wasn’t sure what else to say. It looked now like she wasn’t adventurous enough for Harry. She would have to find a way to fix that.

“Well about the second ghost proof room. Where is it?” Ron put in, changing the conversation. Cho lowered her eyes.

“We… we don’t know. I think that it could be in the dungeon, but I’m not sure. I… Oh! Harry I just remembered! Marietta said that she had given you a memory charm. But I don’t know when. She was talking about how she might give the ghost a memory charm, like she had given you one. What if… I mean I heard that you attacked some Slytherins on the train. Maybe that’s what happened. Maybe she did that to you.” Cho said upset. Harry lowered his head.

“No Cho… that was all me. Draco Malfoy and I have been bitter enemies since our first year, and I’ve had a lot of problems over the last few years, that just sort of blew up on the train. It was stupid, but I’m not going to let it happen again. I don’t remember ever meeting Marietta since we arrived, so maybe you misunderstood her.” Harry finished.

“No Harry I heard her as well, and if you got zapped with a memory charm then you wouldn’t know.” Luna injected. Harry smiled and waved it off.

“Look I took alchemy classes last year, and if someone gave me memory charms, than I would know about it.” Harry stated. Ron gave a frown.

“But Harry didn’t you say that the classes with Snape failed last year?” Ron asked. Harry shook his head.

“Well Ron I’d know if some one gave me a simple memory charm. After all Marietta’s just a simple school girl causing trouble locally. If I can defeat a You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, I can easily defeat her., than I can easily tell if she’s trying to cast a simple charm on me, besides how good can she be at it? She’s still in school. Were just trying to find what she’s up to with this whole bewitched room thing. I have to admit the strangest thing about all this is that she and Filch are related, and that she was telling him what to do. I would never have expected Filch to take orders from a student, no mater what. Um does anyone else have anything to contribute to our investigation?” Harry finished.

Cho reached into her book bag, and pulled out the class year book that she had taken from the library. She opened it up to a marked page. “Well Harry I came across this book the night Luna and I… well the night we snuck out of the tower to look for Marietta. It has her mum in it, and her mum was a part of this society, well a lot of societies, and club really, but one in particular. Well it had this symbol of a black teardrop, and it seemed to be the same symbol that a lot of people were carrying on their arm in the great hall the other day. I wasn’t there, but Luna described it to me. Well anyway Marietta’s mum was a part of it, and well I guess that Marietta is too. From what I can tell it’s a racist organization, as several of the students were talking about purity, and how much better they were than Muggleborn people. Anyway like I said, I didn’t see what happened that day because I’ve been spending most of my breakfast, lunch and dinner breaks in the library.” Cho said. Harry nodded.

“Yea, we’ve run into a few of those society people. Especially that stupid Lori Sanchez. She was talking about how Purebloods were better than Muggleborn, and how Muggleborn aren’t wanted here. Cho started leaking tears from her eyes upon hearing this. Harry noticed. “What’s wrong Cho? Why are you crying?” Harry asked. Cho wiped a tear, and sniffed.

“It’s just that Lori, and I… we used to be friends. She’s changed… she never used to hang out with my Muggleborn friends, but I never thought that she would… I’m so blind to see what some of the people that I used to hang out with were really like. Harry… I’m so sorry.” Cho quietly pleaded. Harry gave her a comforting glance.

“It’s okay Cho really. I know that you’re not like that. Look you can’t help what other people do. But you chose us over them, and that’s all that maters. Is there anything else in the book?” Harry asked. Cho nodded her head.

“Yes, but I don’t think that it’s to relevant. The society used to have their meetings in the Hogwarts Auxiliary building, but it burned down mysteriously. I found a newspaper clipping on it. I… I’m sorry Harry I just couldn’t find anything else.” Cho said disappointed in herself.

“Cho… really, it’s okay. I’m sure that this will help. Look we just need to get Sir Nicholas, and the Gray Lady to start looking for the second bewitched room, but No other ghost. We need to keep access to what were doing very restricted. Before long we’ll have answers to all of our questions.” Harry finished.

The conversation went on for several hours, each member of the team putting in their information about what they knew about the situation, such as Filch complain that Miss Norris was always locked up in his office, when Harry very well remembered that the cat was always following him around. It was decided that Harry and Ron, would try to sneak into Filches office in the near future, and that Hermione, Luna, and Cho should keep researching at the library together. Also the next chance that Cho and Luna got they should follow Marietta to wherever it was she was going at night, the next opportunity they had. After a while the group started breaking up and leaving Cho was waiting for Harry, but it seemed that Hermione was waiting for him too. But Cho had something to ask him that couldn’t wait any longer. She walked up to him.

“Harry may I please have a word with you in private? It’s really important.” Cho pleaded. Harry nodded his head, and turned to Hermione.

“Wait for me outside Hermione. I’ll get with you in a minute, okay.” Harry smiled. Hermione returned his smile, and stepped out reminding that she also had something important to talk with him about in private. After she had left Harry turned to Cho. She as always looked on the verge of tears, but Harry felt a warmness just looking at her. Something from her seemed to radiate warmth that Harry could never explain to himself. “What’s wrong Cho?” Harry asked. Cho tried hard to get the words out, but with difficulty.

“Harry… Emit Walsh, and, and other people have been saying very bad things about you… they said. Well they said that you attacked several of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team in your practice game, and that you tried to kill the seeker. A lot of people are saying it. Even members of your own team. I know that they can’t be right, but… I didn’t know how to explain to them that they were mistaken. I don’t know how to explain it. I need you to tell me what happened, and whatever it is, I’ll believe you. I don’t believe that you would ever hurt anyone like that, so please… tell me what happened on the pitch yesterday.” Cho asked sincerely. Harry pulled her gently over to a bench and sat down with her. He looked into her eyes and saw a look a genuine sincerity gazing at him.

“Look Cho, I… There are things that I cannot tell you. Things that well… I may never be able to tell anyone. Are you sure that if I explain what little I can to you, you can believe me?” Harry asked in a very serious tone. Cho nodded as a tear fell from her eye. Harry gently grabbed her hand and brought it up to his head. He ran it over his scar. “You know what this is from Cho, everyone does. But what you may not know is that You-Know-Who also put some of him in me unintentionally when he was defeated. It’s why I can speak parcaltoung, and why I was almost put in Slytheren I think. Anyway, You-Know-Who can get into my mind sometimes, and make me believe some things that are not real. I think also maybe he may be able to make me do things that I don’t; want to do. Like what happened at the Quidditch game. I don’t even remember anything. I’ve been feeling really weird for a long time now. It’s not the imperious curse, I’m sure of that, but some how, I’m sure that he’s trying to controlling me. Anyway I know that the staffs are going to help me prove my innocents, but for now I’ve got detention. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to play Quidditch again, but I’m going to really go crazy if I don’t get to play it again this year. Anyway that’s what I think happened to me. Do you believe me Cho?” Harry asked unsure. Cho started sobbing uncontrollably as she gave Harry a very tight hug that made him feel as if all the air was being squeezed out of his lungs.

“Harry I… I’m so sorry for you. I can’t even imagine what you must be going through. I believe you, and I promise that you can always count on me to be there for you. I care about you a lot Harry… I promise you that I’ll explain to everyone about what You-Know-Who is doing to you.” Cho said through tears as her warm cheek pressed against his. Harry stroked Cho’s beautiful raven black hair, and felt the wetness of her tears on his face.

“Well Cho… I don’t think that you should tell anyone about that really. Not just now. If people know that he could do that to me… it will be just like last year, and everyone will think that I might go off on them. I don’t ever want that again. I’m sure that the staff will come up with a potion or something that I can drink that will keep him from controlling me.” Harry stated. “Until then I’ll just have to wait for this ting to blow over, Okay?” Harry asked. Cho nodded reluctantly.

“Harry what do I tell people until then?” Cho asked still wanting to help. They had not yet pulled away from their embrace, and Harry could again feel the warmth of her body against him, and smell her vanilla scented shampoo. Her almond shaped brown eyes were hypnotic to him, and he wanted to kiss her at that moment.

“Cho. Just… don’t worry about it. Things will… blow over in… a couple of weeks. Really. Cho looked deep into Harry’s emerald green eyes, and smelt his breath. He must have eaten some chocolate frogs before he came to the meeting, because his breath smelled of chocolate. It was pleasing to Cho. Everything about Harry was pleasing to Cho. She always felt so warm being next to him, and so sincerely happy. Just being in his presents made her just for a short time forget all her problems. She loved him. Not because he was The Harry Potter, but because of some connection that she could never understand. She respected him because of his bravery, and Quidditch skills, and she felt sympathy because of all the pain that he had suffered through his life, but she could not understand why she loved him. But she knew now that she had to tell him, now that they were alone together, now that her heart was felling this way.

“Harry there is something I have to tell you… Harry I…” Cho started, but was interrupted.

“There you are. Harry hurry up! I have something that I need to talk to you about. It’s important.” Hermione stated. Harry pulled away from Cho and started to get up.

“Sorry Hermione, Cho and I were just having an important chat. He turned back to Cho. What was it you wanted to ask me Cho?” Harry asked with a smile. Cho looked over his shoulder at Hermione. She didn’t want to start a fight or anything in front of anything. Cho lowered her head. Nothing. It can wait.” She said softly. Harry nodded. He started off with Hermione, and left Cho sitting in the room of requirement. She had moved to the table and looked to be reading the year book. After Harry and Hermione had left, Cho simply sat there in a daze, not being able to cry. She had guessed that she was out of tears for now. She wished she could be stronger. She had noticed that Hermione Granger had brownish curly hair. Cho looked at her own Hair hating it. Black. She thought. How ordinary, how unattractive. Not a beautiful black like Harry’s, but a boring black. Cho gathered her books and set off to the Ravenclaw tower. Her friend Stephanie Burt knew several hairstyle charms, and maybe she could make Cho’s hair into a beautiful brown, and give her curls. Maybe then she could look beautiful to Harry, if she looked more like Hermione Granger.

“That’s what was so important? You want me to get you back with Ron?” Harry asked Hermione agitated. “Look you can go out with Ron anytime that you please. You’re the one who refuses to date him. He still cares about you Hermione.” Harry said.

“Are you kidding Harry? Didn’t you see how he was all over Luna at the meeting? He was being very… open about what he wanted and it wasn’t me! Please Harry just talk to him for me.” Hermione pleaded. Harry gave a sigh.

“Fine I’ll let him know how you feel, but I’m telling you, you had better start looking for a date to Hogsmead this weekend yourself. I’m sure Ron isn’t ready for a commitment. And I don’t thank that they were all over each other at the meeting.” Harry finished. Hermione gave him a dirty look.

“Well they left together didn’t they? There probably snogging in some empty classroom right now. Please Harry. You have to convince him.” Hermione pleaded. Harry put his head down in capitulation.

“Okay, okay, I promised that I would, and I will. I’m just saying don’t expect anything from him. He still wants to date around.” Harry finished. Hermione smiled.

“Thank you Harry. I really am grateful. Oh! Will you be taking Cho to Hogsmead Harry?” Hermione asked. The question caught Harry off guard.

“No… why do you ask?” He said.

“Well it’s just that she really seems to like you is all. I think that she still has feelings for you.” Hermione said.

“Well, were just friends, and I’m going to ask Fiona Shaw to Hogsmead. Anyway its dinner time lets head to the great hall. I’m famished.” Harry said rubbing his stomach. But on the way he kept thinking about Cho, and about how she felt as they held each other. It was a good feeling, and he wished that Hermione had not interrupted them.


	29. Chapter 29: Aggressive Quidditch

  


**Author's Chapter Notes:**   


Okay everyone who's come back... um well this is the longest chapter ever, and I'm sorry, but there is a Quidditch match, and I wasn't sure how to describe it. I think I was shooting for not too much detail, and not too little. I think I missed the mark. Well, as I said it's long.  I tried really hard to not leave any plot holes, and to mention everything. There is a bit of stuff that seems like useless info, but I almost had the shape shifter leave the pitch with his wand, and Harry still has it with him when he left the pitch, so I didn't want anyone going "Aha! You said he still had the wand. I know I'm the only one who thinks of this though, and that's because I'm completely mental. Sooooo here's to the next chapter being monstrously shorter.

FYI: Teams:

Hufflepuff: Chasers: Emit Walsh (also team captain),Kimberly Dowding,Jason; Cadwallader; Beaters:Max Becky Bromhead; Keeper:Reginald (Rex) Chard; Seeker:Cindy Miggins

Gryffindor: Chasers: Ginny Weasley,Katie Bell,George Cornwallis; Beaters: Abhay Singh,Alfie Bond; Keeper:Ron Weasley; Seeker:Harry Potter (also team captain)

Guest Referee: Jeremy Stretton of Ravenclaw

 

* * *

  


**Chapter 29: Aggressive Quidditch**

It was the same nightmare again. He was again being tortured by the _Crucio_ curse--Voldermort making him feel endless pain. Harry was tossing and turning in bed, covered in sweat. It was early into the nightmare that he had had so many times before. He knew that he was dreaming all this, but he could never wake up until the end. There was still much more torture to go. _Wake up!_ Harry told himself, to no avail. But something started to change this time. For a moment everything became blurry, and several lights flashed around Harry. When his vision began to come back, he was no longer in the dungeon, but some place very familiar. Where? He involuntarily closed his eyes in the dream. At least, he thought it was still a dream, but everything felt so fresh, and every sense he had was so clear. Harry searched around and felt something: a board on a tripod, and a quill. He felt for his wand to make sure that it was in his pocket. Every movement that he made, every action, was not of his own free will. He felt like a helpless guest in his own body. What was going on? Harry was able to catch a glimpse of items in the area. He was in the Gryffindor changing room, at the Quidditch pitch. Harry grabbed the quill and a large piece of parchment that he draped over the board mounted on the tripod. At the base of the board was a small ledge to put quill and ink bottle on. Harry began drawing up what looked like some odd Quidditch plays, but still had no control over his own actions. He tried to move his hands to his side, to see if he could control himself, but he had no control. Everything felt so real! Was he really at the pitch or was it only part of his dream...?

After Harry had been drawing for a while, he heard noises outside the room. The door opened, and Katie Bell and the rest of the Gryffindor team began to fill up the room. Ron came up to him right away.

"'Arry? Why did you leave class like that? You lost us points. And why are you already here? I thought you might have been ill or something. You're... you're already in your Quidditch uniform; you must have come straight here from Charms. What's going on?" Ron asked suspiciously. 

Harry gave him a hearty slap on the back and a mischievous smile.  "Relax Ron; it's just a few points. Besides, what does it matter?  Today we're going to cream Hufflepuff in a great Quidditch game." Harry said. _Did I just say that?_ he thought. He was still not able to control any of his own words. "Everyone please take a seat. Now I know that you're all anxious to get ready, but this being my first year as team captain, I wanted to show you a few plays that we're going to use to beat those pureblood slimes in Slytherin this year. Now I..." he started, but was interrupted by Ginny, waving her hand back and forth. "Err... yes Ginny, is it?" he said, concentrating on remembering her name. _Wait!_ Why did he have to concentrate on _that?_ He had known Ginny forever. She was his best friend's sister.

"Humph! I should hope it is still Ginny. Look, when you say pureblood slime, I think you forget that Ron and Abhay and I are all purebloods as well. I know that you and Hermione have had a hard time with Malfoy and his lot calling you 'mudblood' and all, but we're not all like that, okay?" Ginny said offended. 

Harry unconsciously rolled his eyes.  "Come on, Ginny, I wasn't talking about you and the team; I was only talking about most purebloods. The ones who will not roll over for us Muggleborns to run things. 

Abhay shot up out of his seat with a look of disgust on his face.  "Excuse me. What the bloody hell are you talking about, Potter? Most of us don't have a problem with Muggleborn people in our society. I for instance..." Abhay started, but Harry cut him off.

" **Fascinating story**... and you weave it so well. Look we can discuss politics some other time, but I'm trying to run a Quidditch team here. So just put anything else you wanted to talk about away for another time. Right now, I wanted to go over some game planes to beat Slytherin. Now, I've taken the liberty of drawing up some good plays, and I want to go over them with you. Now look, we all know that Slytherin has a habit of playing very aggressively and taking cheap shots. Well, this year we're not going to stand for it. This year, we're going to match them. I want you all to take as many cheap shots as you can get. Play as rough as you like. Our new strategy is: Do _whatever it takes to win!_ If you can knock someone off their broom without getting caught, then do it." Harry said with an air of excitement that was not his. _No! No!_ he thought. _Don't listen to me. I'm being controlled by Voldermort or something._ But those words didn't come out. Only more of his plan to use Hufflepuff as practice for their match with Slytherin.

"Harry, have you lost your bleeding mind? We're not Slytherin. We don't want to play like that. We don't' want to cheat." Ron complained, to the agreement of the rest of the team. 

Harry could feel a frown coming over his face.  "Look, I'm team captain. We're going to win the Quidditch Cup. How we do it doesn't have to concern you. I thought that you were all behind me. I thought that you all knew that I was _The Boy Who Lived_." Now Quidditch has always been an aggressive sport. My first year here I remember Katie getting knocked off her broom by a burly Slytherin. You don't have to cheat a lot. Just play rough and aggressive. Play like Slytherin does. I guarantee you that we will win the House Cup if you all just trust me. Trust _The Boy Who Lived_ ," Harry finished, regretting every word that came out, but not being able to stop himself. 

Katie Bell walked up to Harry.  "Okay, Potter...we'll play aggressive. You're team captain; it's your call. But I don't like it. Do we even need to do that to Hufflepuff? They are the worst team at Hogwarts. I mean defeating them will be easy, even if we only give it half the effort. It's just a practice game after all," Katie finished. 

Harry put a hand on her shoulder.  "Look, uh... Bell.  We're practicing for Slytherin. So pretend that it's Draco and his lot out there today. Just forget that it's Hufflepuff, and picture them all as Slytherins. I _mean_ it, Bell. I don't want to see them scoring one point. Do you understand?" Harry asked. 

Harry felt sick. How could he be saying this? Was this a nightmare? It felt so real. Voldermort must be controlling him. _Don't listen to me, Katie,_ he thought. Katie nodded. He could tell that the whole team felt uneasy about the plan. But several of the students were the ones who had asked for his autograph on the train and in the halls. He knew that they had confidence in the decisions he made, but this was _not_ his decision. 

Everyone started to walk out to the pitch, but Ron pulled him back for a minute.  "Harry, what's wrong with you? Have you taken a blow to the head?" 

Harry turned to face his best friend.  "What's wrong with _you,_ Ron? Don't you want to win?" Harry asked against his will.

"I don't want to win like this," Ron countered. 

Harry smirked.  "Well than maybe you shouldn't be on the team. I'm trying to put together a winning team here. Don't forget that. Now just do your job," Harry finished. 

Ron gave a sigh, and started out the door without another word.

The Gryffindor team approached the center of the field where the Hufflepuffs were already waiting with looks of excitement. Emit Walsh walked up to Harry with a smile on his face, and extended his hand.

"Hello, Potter, it's good to see you again! This is my team. We're all first time players, well except for me and Cadwallader, that is." Walsh said happily. Harry took his hand and gave it a very tight squeeze as he shook it. Walsh was caught off guard, and laughed nervously. He seemed to think that Harry was trying to be funny, so he squeezed back, but could not match his power. After a few seconds Walsh seemed to be in pain, and Harry could feel himself smiling, as Walsh winched. Finally Walsh pulled his hand away quickly, and began rubbing it with his other hand. He tried to laugh it off. "Ha, pretty firm grip you got there Potter. Remember, to go easy on me, and my team, it's just a practice match, okay?" Walsh said with a smile. 

Harry smiled back.  "Sure thing Walsh... we'll go easy on you. But you know... sometimes accidents happen in this game, and people get hurt no matter what. Something to think about." Harry said. Walsh gave him a quizzical look, but then smiled again.

"Well, I'm sure that we'll be okay. Would you like to meet the members of my team?" Walsh asked happily.

"No," Harry said casually. "We came here to play a game.  Let's play. We can socialize afterwards, right?" Harry said. Harry wanted to cry in his mind, as he sensed something terrible was going to happen, but couldn't do anything to stop himself. 

Walsh looked a bit disappointed, but nodded his head.  "Okay, Potter, You're right, we'll all hang out later," he said.

"Oh! Walsh, one thing. Are you a pureblood?" Harry asked suddenly. 

Walsh was surprised at the question.  "Well, yeahh. I told you I was in the Great Hall. Um... why do you ask?" Walsh said, curious. 

Harry gave a mischievous grin.  "No reason. Just curious.  Let's play."

The players mounted their brooms, and made a circle in the middle of the pitch. Harry recognized the referee as Jeremy Stretton, a seventh year Ravenclaw, whom Walsh had picked as an independent party to judge the game. He nodded to the team captains.  "Mr. Walsh. Mr. Potter, good to see you both. Okay, we want a nice clean game.  We all know the rules, and I wish you both good luck. Oh, and Potter, thanks again for what you did at the Ministry last year. We're all real proud of you." 

Harry nodded, and noticed a flash of bright light out of the corner of his eye. He looked up at the area where the score Keeper usually sat, and noticed two short blond-haired kids sitting there.  One had a camera. Harry looked at Ron, and pointed at the two.  "Who are they Ron?" he asked. 

Ron gave him a bewildered look.  "Harry do you need a new prescription for your glasses? They're only your biggest fans, Colin and Dennis Creevey. They wanted to watch, so I made them score Keepers. 

Harry searched his mind, trying to remember them. Why was he doing this?  He knew who they were!  "Oh yes, I remember now. Look.  Go over there and have him put away the camera. I don't want any pictures taken here," Harry said.

"What are you talking about, Harry? What happened to wanting pictures for your adoring fans?" Ron inquired, a trifle nastily.

"Huh... oh, right. Well, that can wait until I'm ready, but for now, no pictures. Go tell him real quick, Ron." 

Ron rolled his eyes.  "Fine," he said and sped away to the score booth. 

Jeremy Stretton looked at Harry, confused, as Ron flew by him.  "Err... ready Potter?" he said.

"Almost," Harry replied. 

In a few minutes Ron was back.  "Well I told him, but he's really disappointed. Anyway he wants to know when he can take some pictures," Ron said casually.

"When I bloody feel like it." Harry said, agitated. Ron raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. 

Stretton sat on his broom in the middle of the pitch, Quaffle in hand.  " **Alright! Ready Hufflepuff?"** he shouted. Walsh nodded eagerly. Stretton turned to Harry. **"Ready Gryffindor?"** Stretton asked, putting the whistle to his mouth. Harry grabbed his Firebolt tightly with both hands, and nodded his head. Stretton threw the Quaffle in the air with all his might, and blew on the whistle at the same time, signaling "game on".

At that instant a million things seemed to happen at once. Cindy Miggins, the Hufflepuff Seeker shot up high and away from the circle to go look for the Snitch, as Rex Chard and Ron moved away to their respective goals. Harry was also supposed to go and look for the Snitch too, but instead he kicked his Firebolt into full power over the head of Jeremy Stretton and grabbed the Quaffle before it reached its apex. Using his superior speed, he made it to within a few yards of the goal, at which time, he was flanked by two Hufflepuff Chasers. Harry continued to fly straight for the goal and saw Chard in front of it to his left. Harry zoomed up to the third year, and with all the strength he had, and to his regret, slammed the Quaffle at full force into the boy's head. Rex was knocked off his broom and plummeted to the sand patch below, and the Quaffle bounced back behind Harry and was instinctively caught by Jason Cadwallader, a Hufflepuff Chaser, who froze in shock for a minute after seeing what Harry had done to his Keeper. Harry wanted to call a time out, to see about Chard, but he was just a passenger in his own body, and without will or hesitation, he zoomed straight at Cadwallader to grab the Quaffle away from him, almost knocking him off his broom as well. Harry could feel a look of anger tighten on his face as he ripped the Quaffle out of the Hufflepuff Chaser's hands, and shot over to the Keeperless goal to slam the ball through the center loop, just before a time out was called over the intercom. Walsh had asked the referee for a time out to check on his Keeper. 

Both teams gathered round.  Walsh lightly slapped Chard's cheeks to wake him up. He had a nasty bump on the left side of his forehead. 

Chard slowly opened his eyes.  "What... what happened?" he asked, dazed. 

Harry could feel a sinister grin come across his face.  "You okay Chard? Sorry about that... I thought that you were going to duck. I guess you didn't know I had the Quaffle. Didn't expect the Seeker to come after you with it," Harry said, sounding sincere, while he screamed inside to tell everyone that he wasn't in control of his own actions, but to no avail. 

Chard looked up at Harry, still a little out of it.  "I... yeah, I guess you caught me off guard." Chard said. I'm okay to play. I just need a second," he mumbled and sat back down. Walsh looked up at Harry.

"Potter... why did you go after the Quaffle? I mean, it's not the Seeker's job," he asked. 

Harry shrugged.  "No rule against it, and besides, it got Gryffindor a quick ten points. People just don't expect the Seeker to go after the Quaffle," he said lightly. 

Walsh let out a sigh.  "Alright... I suppose your right, but um... take it easy on us, won't you?  It's just a practice match; we're not playing for the cup... okay?" Walsh asked in a kind manner. 

Harry gave him a smile.  "Sure Walsh, no problem, just a practice game, but... do try and keep up. We have some _real_ competition in a few weeks, and, well, we want to be ready," Harry said, sounding a bit indignant. He slowly drifted on his broom towards the center of the field to wait for Hufflepuff to get ready. As he did, he passed by Cadwallader, who had an expression of anger and determination on his face. 

After several minutes and a First Aid Charm, Chard was back on his broom and everyone was gathered around the center of the pitch. Jeremy Stretton looked at each of the two team captains, who both clutched their brooms tightly.  He looked worried, but after a moment of hesitation called out: **"Ready Hufflepuff?"** Walsh nodded his head with determination. Stretton turned to Harry **. "Ready Gryffindor?"** Harry gave a great smile and nodded. Stretton threw the ball up high and gave the whistle a blow. 

Harry again shot up after the Quaffle, and, with the superior speed of his Firebolt, was able to grab the Quaffle again, but this time he zoomed over to Ginny, and shoved the it into her arms. Harry gave her a dirty look, pointed to the Gryffindor goal, and told her in no uncertain terms, **"Put that bloody ball in there! No matter what!"**

Ginny, more than a little taken aback by the way Harry was acting, nonetheless nodded and headed off to the goal, followed closely by a Hufflepuff Chaser. Harry then shot up at a ninety degree angle to look for the Snitch. At about eight hundred feet, he started circling the pitch and began to look around. He finally felt a rush of excitement, not his own, when he found the object he was searching for. But it wasn't the Snitch, but the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cindy Miggins. She was busy looking around the pitch for the Snitch. 

Harry began to follow her, unwillingly, thinking that Voldermort must be inside him and using him to play Quidditch. But if the Dark Lord could control him this easily, then why didn't he have him run his broom into the ground at two hundred miles per hour? What was Voldermort playing at? Harry continued to follow Miggins around, not seeming to care about looking for the Snitch, but concentrating on her. He must be waiting for her to find it, and would then chase her to it, intending to use the speed of his Firebolt when he saw her go after it. 

As he circled behind her, he heard the Creevey brothers energetically calling out the plays made by the other players on the team. He turned to watch a while. After a few minutes, it was sixty-nil. _Good_ , he thought. _Now everyone's playing the way Harry Potter plays Quidditch_. _Wait!_ _Did I just think that? Damn you Voldermort, I'll get you for this._

Suddenly he saw Emit Walsh heading for the Gryffindor goal. Cornwallis was in his way and made an attempt to stop him, but missed. Ron was flying in from the left to the center goal, ready for the block. Walsh faked left, and cut right at the last minute to score a goal, making it sixty-ten. **"Damn it!"** Harry shouted and zoomed down to Stretton to call a time out. He motioned all his team mates to one side of the pitch to _talk_ with them. Harry drifted over to Cornwallis and looked at him with dagger eyes. "Well?" he said angrily. 

Cornwallis looked dumfounded.  "Well what?" he asked. 

Harry could feel his blood boil, but wasn't sure why.  "Well, what the hell was that? Hufflepuff was not supposed to score this game. I saw Walsh breeze past you like you were standing still. You should have run right at him. You should have gotten that ball away from him, if you had to punch him. What's your excuse?" 

Cornwallis seemed a bit nervous and looked around for support from his fellow Gryffindors. He noticed that they were all sitting on their broom slack jawed at Harry's attitude. 

**"Hey! Cornwallis!** I'm over here," Harry shouted, and Cornwallis immediately refocused his attention on his captain.

"Well... um... Ron missed the ball too," Cornwallis said quietly, pointing to the Gryffindor Keeper. Harry closed in on Cornwallis, so that their faces were centimeters apart.

"The ball should never have gotten that far. For every time Hufflepuff gets a score past you, you'll sit out that many games. Do you understand?" Harry said through gritted teeth. Cornwallis nervously nodded his head. Harry smiled. "Good. Now remember... play like a Slytherin," he said, a little more relaxed.

"Potter, I have something to tell you." Katie Bell said, livid. 

Harry smiled.  "Okay, Katie, but let's do it over there in private," Harry said pointing to a side area of the pitch. 

Katie looked to where he was pointing and then back at him, still with a scowl on her face.  "I want to say it in front of the team," she retorted.

"I'm sure you do, but I need to talk with you in private.  Now follow me," Harry said as he flew over to the private area. 

Katie followed. When they were alone, she spoke with controlled civility.  "I don't' think that Professor McGonagall would appreciate the way you're treating this team. I don't think that she would approve of your tactics at all." 

Harry just gave another sinister smile.  "Really? Well... Bell, let me tell you something. Professor McGonagall made _me_ team captain, and she likes having the Quidditch Cup in our common room. Now... I know what your problem is, Bell... it's your last year on the team, and you're a little jealous that she didn't make you captain..." Harry said casually, but was cut off.

"Scoff! I am not jealous. I... I didn't want to be team captain," she said folding her arms and sticking her noise in the air.

"Good, then stop acting like it. I came back this year to win the Cup. If you play right now like we're playing Slytherin for the Cup, then maybe-just maybe--we'll win it. Oh, and one more thing Bell. I think that you should remember that I am, The Boy Who Lived, and the person who saved everyone from You-Know-Who last year, so I think that you need to show me a little more respect. That is unless... you're not grateful..." Harry trailed off. 

Katie looked hurt.  "Look, Harry, I am grateful, and I'm sorry I didn't support you totally from the beginning last year. And I think you from the bottom of my heart for last year, but..." Katie said sincerely, but was cut off.

"Good! Than show me your loyalty through your actions, and not your words. Now come on. Everyone's waiting," Harry said and sped off to the waiting players before Katie could counter him.

Everyone got ready, and Stretton again set the game on. Harry again swooped over to grab the Quaffle and did a quick one eighty to head for Cornwallis. Harry slid to a halt in front of him and threw the ball roughly into his arms. Harry narrowed his eyes. "You know what to do," He said in an authoritive tone. Cornwallis nodded his head and flew off toward the goal, as Harry flew up to a higher level to follow Cindy Miggins again. As he watched her, he could feel himself listening intently to the score.  After about twenty six minutes of play, and three of his team mates receiving two reprimands apiece, the score was one hundred and twenty to ten. 

Harry saw a bright flash out of the corner of his eye from the announcer's booth; it seemed that the Creevey brothers wanted to sneak one more shot with their camera. Suddenly Harry had to duck quickly as a Bludger narrowly missed his head. For a short time, Harry focused his attention on the rest of the group down below. The Gryffindor players were not giving Hufflepuff a chance, and Walsh's team was clearly exhausted. After losing six more goals in twenty minutes, where Hufflepuff almost never had possession of the ball, Walsh called his team's second time out of the game. As all the players lowered their brooms to about a meter off the ground, Walsh came flying over to Harry, with an angry look on his face.

"What the hell is this, Potter? I thought that we agreed that we were going to have a nice friendly game. I thought that you were going to take it easy on us because it was only a practice game," Walsh said with a great deal of anger. 

Harry yawned.  "Walsh, we are going easy on you. We've only just warmed up. It's not our fault that you have the historically worst team in Hogwarts, or any wizarding school for that matter. But you need to understand one thing, and that's that _Quidditch is a rough sport_ , and if you don't think that you can handle a real game, than maybe you don't need to be playing. Now if you would like to forfeit the match..." Harry said in a manner that made him seem bored. Walsh looked at him with what he could tell was growing resentment. _Good!_ Harry thought, _soon he'll hate me full force. Wait! Why is that good?_ Harry tried to again concentrate on regaining control of his body and his thoughts, but it was a lost cause.

Soon the game was back on, and he was listening to the score go higher and higher, with no additional Hufflepuff scores. He was focusing on his team. Soon they were a person short, because George Cromwell had been thrown out of the game by Stretton, but even then, Gryffindor was more than a match for Hufflepuff.

Harry was concentrating so hard on the game below that he had totally forgotten about Cindy Miggins, and the Snitch, until he heard Colin Creevey announce that it looked like she had spotted it. Harry quickly turned his head up to see her climbing to a great height to catch the small gold flying object. Harry set his Firebolt at full speed to catch up to her, following along in her slipstream. The two of them banked, climbed, dived, and turned in their attempt to catch the Golden Snitch, as it zoomed through the air. Although Harry was faster, Miggins was blocking his way. Harry pulled out from behind her and picked up speed. Soon he was neck and neck with her, and in the next moment, he was pulling ahead. Now he was moving well past her; he would catch the Snitch. The Hufflepuff's Comet Two-Sixty was just not fast enough.   

The Snitch was just with in reach now, but then Harry did something that he did not expect. He turned to look at Miggins trailing him and pulled his wand from his robe pocket. He slowed down so that she was only centimeters away from him, and he gave her a happy smile and a wink. She smiled back, and blushed. Harry then pointed his wand at her and yelled **. " _Expelliarmus!_ " **The short blast from his wand sent her flying from her broom to the ground below. Without looking down, Harry put away his wand, and pushed hard to grab the Snitch. After only seconds he had grabbed it, and Jeremy Stretton called "game over".

Harry flew back toward the ground, seeing several people from both teams huddled about Cindy Miggins, who appeared to be unconscious. Instead of joining them, he hovered until someone from the Hufflepuff team spotted him; then he flew to the scoring booth. He was right next to Colin, and Dennis. "Well, what's the score?" he said happily. Colin and Dennis looked worried.

"Harry... Cindy Miggins looks real bad, I think..." Colin started, but was cut off by Harry.

"I said, _what's... the score!"_ Harry said, agitated. 

Colin looked at him dumbfounded.  "It's two hundred and seventy to ten." Colin said in a low whisper. Harry smiled and looked at the people gathered around Cindy Miggins. Two of the Chasers for Hufflepuff were walking her back to the castle, using three brooms as an improvised stretcher. A few Gryffindors tried to help, but the Hufflepuffs threatened to start a fight if they came anywhere near her. 

Harry flew over to Jeremy Stretton, and asked if he got credit for the Snitch. Jeremy was taken aback. "Well, I didn't see what was happening exactly from my angle. I was flying low at the time, but, Harry we need to see about Cindy Miggins.  She's hurt real bad, and the Hufflepuffs seem to think that you d knocked her off her broom _intentionally!_ What happened up there?" Stretton asked, concerned. 

Harry smiled.  "Look, I gave her a little push to get her out of the way. You know how these younger kids are--can't stay on their brooms when it gets competitive. But it would have been the same result if a Bludger had hit her.   Then the Hufflepuffs would be blaming the Bludger. Why would I really try to go after her like that? I mean I have a Firebolt, and she has a useless Comet Two-Sixty. She never had a chance, so what would be the point?" Harry said with an air of elitism.

" **Hey!** You know, Potter, I have a Comet Two-Sixty. They are not so bad, I..." Stretton started, offended, but was cut off.

"Alright, fine, the point is, they were losing, and needed to find someone to blame for being the worst team at the school," Harry said. 

Stretton looked uneasy.  "I don't know Potter, they seemed really sincere," Stretton said. 

Harry acted offended.  "Stretton... it's me! The Boy Who Lived. Who saved everyone from You-Know-Who last year. Now do you think that I would lie to you?" Harry finished. 

Stretton thought about it for a second.  "No, of course not. I wasn't saying that. I just couldn't tell what went on from my perspective," Stretton said almost apologetically. 

Harry nodded.  "Well, could you tell that I got the Snitch?" Harry asked. 

Stretton let out a sigh.  "Harry, I think that there are more..." he began, but was cut off.

" **Did you see it?"** Harry inquired, almost angry. 

Stretton stepped back a few feet, a little frightened.  "Yeah, I saw it... You caught it. Gryffindor won." Stretton said.

"Good! Harry said happily and then glanced at his teammates, walking unhappily toward the Gryffindor changing room. He sped off on his broom at full speed and passed them in an instant. The last words he heard Stretton say were, "What about Cindy Miggins?"

 Harry didn't answer. He zoomed into the Gryffindor changing room and threw down his broom. He locked the door and took off his Quidditch uniform. He then ran over to a bench and pulled something out from under it-a cloth bundle cloth. Whatever was in the cloth was only a gray blur to him.  He then wrapped himself in some kind of thin sheet. It was so thin that it reminded him of an Invisibility Cloak. Harry then moved to the wall of the changing room and cast a spell to make the wooden wall open up. He was still not able to control his actions. He then took his wand and put it in something that felt like a pocket. The wooden wall slowly began to close again, and he walked quickly through the opening, under the see-through material, and nearly tripped over some wooden support beams. But he finally made it to the outside as he heard some knocking on the door that led to the pitch area. Finally the wall closed, and Harry felt himself _melt!_ into the ground.

Harry woke up in his usual sweat, and hopped out of bed. He ran over to Ron, whispering loudly and shaking him violently.

"Ron! Ron! Wake up!" Harry pleaded. Ron opened his eyes and began to grumble.

After they were both wide awake, Harry recounted his dream to Ron, and how he remembered everything that happened at the practice match. Ron confirmed that it had indeed played out that way, and that, at the end, the door to the changing room was locked. No one had mentioned it because it seemed so minor, compared to everything else that had happened. Finally Ron stated that he didn't have a clue about Harry melting outside, or his using his Invisibility Cloak, as they had found Harry in the changing room, lying on the floor. Harry then had the idea that someone could have stolen it from his room. Both boys headed to Harry's foot locker, and Harry used his secret combination spell, and opened it to find his father's cloak still safe and sound. 

Harry looked at Ron.  "Do you suppose that someone else could have one?" Harry asked. 

Ron shook his head.  "Not likely.  In addition to being very rare, when you do find one, they are very expensive. But if any student or teacher had another one, they would have to be from a rich, rich family. Now who do we know that would set you up, and who's family has lots of money?" Ron mused. The answer came to both boys at once, and they shouted to each other in unison: **_Draco Malfoy!_**  
  
---


	30. Chapter 30: Marietta's Plan for Cho

  
       Chapter 30:  [**Marietta's Plan for Cho**](http://astele.co.uk/UnknowableRoom/Chapter/Details/viewstory.php?sid=3928&chapter=29)

 

 

Cho was sitting on the edge of Stephanie Burt's bed, while Stephanie was trying to decide what spells to use on her hair.

Stephanie had a reputation for doing wonders with hairstyles, using magic. She planned on opening the largest franchise of beauty shops in the magical world once she graduated, and many girls in Hogwarts came to her for advice from time to time. Now Cho was before her with a request.

"So you want me to make your hair brown, with curls? How about I also give you some streaks that are so very _in_ now. I just gave Holly Hopkins a nice pink streak spell yesterday. Would you like a blue one? It would look really good on you!" Stephanie asked. Cho shook her head.

"No, no thank you. Nothing so fancy. I just need my hair brown, with curls. Um... about _this_ long." Cho said politely, indicating the length of Hermione Granger's hair. 

Stephanie nodded. Well, okay, I can do that. Hold still. Cho sat on the edge of Stephanie's bed, and Stephanie started a few magic spells to change Cho's hair to a light brown. After seeing it in the mirror, Cho asked her friend to darken it a little, remembering Harry's girlfriend's hair was somewhat darker. After Stephanie had gotten Cho's hair to a color that Cho thought matched, she pulled out a Muggle curling iron. Stephanie had bewitched it to work without the need for electricity. She had also brought several other things to the school that she was not able to bewitch because there was just too much magic at Hogwarts, where, most of the time, even bewitching Muggle items was impossible. But curling items were still in use in the magical world, because no one had quite found out how to cast a proper spell to make proper curls. Stephanie vowed that she would be the first and become rich off it.

"Soooo... who is he?" Stephanie said with a mischievous smile, as she leaned down to whisper in Cho's ear.

"Who?" Cho said, somewhat nervous. 

Stephanie rolled her eyes.  "Oh come on Cho, this is only the third time that you've come to me with a request to fix your hair. The first was when you went to the Yule ball with Diggory, and the second was when you were going to Hogsmeade with Harry Potter. I know you fancy a guy, or else you wouldn't have me do this. Now, who is it?" Stephanie asked. 

Cho was hesitant to tell her. What was she doing here anyway, trying to look less like herself, so that Harry would like her? She just wanted Harry to like her, and to do that she would have to change everything about herself. As her friend Stephanie combed her hair, she looked in the mirror. She felt so different. She was the only ethnically Asian person in Ravenclaw, if you didn't count the Indian students. And she even didn't look like them. She didn't look like anyone that she knew. Was it possible that Harry didn't like her in that special way because of that fact? Because she didn't look like anyone else? She was hoping with this new hairstyle that she could look a bit more normal and more appealing to Harry. Cho didn't want to look too much like Miss Granger, or everyone would get what she was at instantly; she just wanted Harry to look at her the way that she thought he might have at certain times last year. But was that just a far off dream? It seemed a thousand years ago, since Harry had asked her out, since he had kissed her. Or did she initiate the kiss? Now that she reflected on it, it did seem that she was always the one to try and make that connection. She always sought out Harry, and she couldn't remember any time that he had gone after her. Of course, that must be it. Someone else had told her about the DA, she always waited afterward to talk to Harry, and she was the one who kissed him and didn't get much feeling back from him. After the disastrous date, she was the one who tried to rebuild the connection. She was only ever going to be friends with Harry, and... she would have to accept it. But she cared about him, and she wanted to be more than that to him. She would just have to...

" **Cho!"** Stephanie's yell startled Cho out of her reflection.

"Huh! Oh... sorry Steph. What did you say?" Cho asked, embarrassed. 

Stephanie gave her an agitated look.  "Lots! One thing I asked was who are you doing this for? And another is did you want to go with us tonight?" 

Cho looked at her quizzically.  "Go where Steph?" Cho asked. 

Stephanie looked around, to make sure that they were alone.  "Well some of us Ravenclaws are going to a very secret party tonight after curfew to meet with some Slytheren boys and girls. It's going to be a very good party. And you need some cheering up." Stephanie said with another mischievous grin. 

Cho frowned.  "Thanks Steph, but I have to do a lot of work. I really don't have the time because I'm so far behind. Maybe next time."  

Stephanie gave a deep sigh. "Look, I know that you had a tough time last year, but you need to unwind. Just let go for a night. Well, you spend enough time in the library that you should be caught up soon. So we will be throwing other after-hours parties, and _you will_ be going to at least one! Got it?" Stephanie asked seriously. 

Cho nodded her agreement. 

"Good! I'm glad. Now, you're not getting out of here until you tell me who you're doing this for. I mean it." Stephanie said. 

Cho saw the determination in her friend's eyes, then looked about to make sure that no one else was around. Cho then whispered very softly, "Alright, but you have to promise me that you will not breathe a word about this to anyone, and after I tell you, you will not ask me anything else. Agreed?" Cho said in an equally serious tone.

"Oh, come on.  I'll have, like, a million questions.  You have to give me at least one. I promise that I won't tell a soul. Just one question... please...please..." Stephanie said excited to hear who the mystery man was. 

Cho nodded her capitulation.  "Okay, but just one, and then we don't ever talk about it again, alright?" Cho asked. 

Stephanie nodded her head, as she tried to think of the perfect question to ask. 

Cho leaned close to her, and said in a worried voice, "It's... Harry Potter." 

Stephanie rolled her eyes, and threw herself on the back of the bed in a fit of laughter. 

Cho was surprised by her friend's behavior.  "What's so funny?" she asked. 

Stephanie sat up holding her sides as they hurt from the pain of her laughter.  "Oh, Cho, it's Harry Potter for, like, every other girl in this school, well, except for the Hufflepuffs. Now that he's not mental and is an honest-to-God hero. I would love to be with him myself. He's sooo in this year!" Stephanie said.

"That's not what you were saying about him last year," Cho said, annoyed. 

Stephanie sat a more serious look on her face. "Well, last year he was a bit mental, I mean, that's what the paper said... and the Ministry of Magic. So he was unpopular. But now he's **_The Boy Who Lived! Defeater of You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters! International Superstar!_** " Stephanie shouted, waving her hands about for emphasis. Then she looked directly into Cho's eyes. "But look Cho... really it's just fantasy. It's like when I was chasing after Victor Krum when he was here, me and a bunch of other giggling girls. But it was all just fantasy."  She added in a comforting voice, "So although you are a very good person and very popular in your own right, don't expect him to be... available for a relationship, I mean he **is** the most popular boy in school." 

"I don't care about all those titles and the fame and all. I just... It doesn't really matter anyway, I guess. He has a girlfriend anyway. So maybe it is all useless." Cho said sadly. 

Stephanie's eyes went wide.  " **He has a girlfriend! Who is she? Tell me Cho, or I'll just die, not knowing who it is."** Stephanie screamed excitedly. 

Cho held her finger to her mouth, and made a noise, signalling Stephanie to be quiet.

"It's Hermione Granger," Cho said.  The name left a bad taste in her mouth. 

Stephanie's jaw dropped open.  "No flipping way! Wow, is she going snog every Triwizard champion? Next she'll be hooking up with that French girl," Stephanie joked. 

Cho sat up, turned around, and thanked Stephanie sincerely for her help with her hair. She then started to leave. Stephanie protested that she didn't ask her question yet. Cho looked back at her and told Stephanie that she had asked who Harry's girlfriend was, and that that counted as her question. Cho than proceeded up the stairs to go to bed, hoping to have good dreams about Harry for a change.

**~*~**

The next day, Harry stood outside the hospital room with his box of Chocolate Frogs, and waited for Madam Pomfrey to allow him in. Cindy Miggins had indeed suffered a serious head injury from being blasted off her broom and the impact of hitting the ground, and now she was going to be moved to St. Mungo's for treatment. The first aid spells by her team mates had saved her life, and Madam Pomfrey had also made a lot of progress towards Miggins' healing, but the damage had already been done at impact, and now she would be out of school for the year. Harry was feeling very guilty.  Even though he had had no control over his own body at the time, he still felt responsible for her condition to a point. As he started in the door he met Emit Walsh on his way out. Emit had been by Miggins' side for several days, and Harry had avoided visiting her for fear of running into Walsh and having a fight break out. Walsh stopped dead in his tracks and balled up his fist upon seeing Harry.

"What the bloody hell do you want, Potter!" He said in an accusing tone. 

Harry put up his open hands in a jester of peace.  "Look Walsh, I don't want any trouble. I just wanted to say that I was sorry, really. I was being controlled by someone else. It wasn't me. Really. And I just wanted to come down here and say to Miggins, how sorry I was that everything happened as it did." 

Walsh didn't move from the door.  "Piss on your apologies Potter.  You knew exactly what you were doing, and you can't fool me that you were under an Imperius curse. You're just some arrogant prick who wants that trophy so bad because you didn't get to play last year. Well, you may have gotten out of serious punishment, but if you ever come near me or any of my team again off the pitch, I'll lay you out flat. And when we do have our Quidditch Cup match, I will be kicking your arse. Got it?" Walsh said, not backing down. 

Harry was growing frustrated.  "Look, Walsh, I told you that I only came to say that I was sorry to Cindy.  Whatever happened, I owe her an apology.  Now get out of my way so I can do just that," Harry said, using the most authoritative tone he could muster. Walsh stared him down, but eventually moved out of the way. 

Harry walked up to the bed that Cindy Miggins was in and put the Chocolate Frogs on a stand beside it. Cindy's head was still bandaged, and there was a green glow around the bandages that pulsated. Harry looked at Walsh, and pointed to it. "What's that green glow, Walsh?" Harry asked. 

Walsh folded his arms, and peered at Harry.  "That's a relieving charm, to relieve pressure on her head. That's what she landed on when she hit the ground." Walsh said through gritted teeth. 

Harry looked back.  Cindy's eyes were open, but she did not speak. She suddenly looked at Harry, and a tear came to her eye. 

Harry felt empty inside. He held her hand, and spoke softly to her.  "Cindy... look, I just wanted you to know that that wasn't me doing that on the pitch the other day. I mean I was being controlled by someone else. I'm sorry that everything went down like it did, but I promise that I'll get the person for you. I'll make them pay for what they did. I think I know who it is, and I'm going to confront them. Really, I would never want anything like this to happen." Harry pleaded. Cindy looked groggy, and only closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

"Okay, Potter, you've apologized.  Now get out of here," Walsh said. 

Harry slowly walked out of the room. When he was in the doorway, Walsh called back to him. "Oy Potter... I just thought that you would like to know that during one of her rare states of consciousness, Miggins said that she never wanted to play Quidditch again. I just thought that you might like to think about that. Walsh closed the door hard behind Harry, who felt about a few centimeters tall. He slowly made his way downstairs to the Great Hall for lunch, but he didn't really have much of an appetite. Going down the stairs, he met Colin Creevey, who jumped excitedly.

"Hiya, Harry! Can I get some pictures of you now? I mean, are you ready?" Colin asked happily. Harry was about to say that he wasn't in the mood, when he suddenly remembered how he had been treated all last year. Maybe he needed to start up some P.R. of his own. He would have to have Hermione talk with Rita Skeeter to set up an interview soon. 

Harry looked at Colin, "Tell you what, Colin, I could use some good press these days.  Why don't you follow me to the Great Hall, and take a few snaps. I can autograph 'em for any student who wants them and maybe win over a few friends," Harry said, thinking that giving out a few autographs would make him more popular. Harry had promised himself a good year, and if it meant being _The Boy Who Lived_ to do it he was ready.  Better to deal with the inconveniences of fame than the hell of unpopularity. Harry started back down the stairs again with Colin in tow.

**~*~**

Cho sat in the library, working on her Transfiguration assignment. Several other books were beside her as well, from each of the classes that she was so far behind in. In addition, there were two other books on her table.  They were **_The Oxford Cancer Institute: Advanced Breast Cancer Treatment Medical Files Volume 5_** , and the Hogwarts yearbook from Marietta's mum's year. Cho's stomach grumbled again from missing breakfast, and she promised herself that she could not miss dinner, or she would be in too much pain to study that night. 

**~*~**

Beyond the door to the library stood Seamus Finnegan, and Marietta Edgecombe, in sinister discussion.  "Alright, Seamus dear, just get the librarian to the back of the room, and hit her with a Memory and a Knockout Charm. I know you're not used to them, but just do like I taught you. Then stash the body under the Invisibility Cloak as before, and hide her, and your clothes. Remember to use the exact words that I taught you, because if you will have to go to the Headmaster's office to be a witness against what Chang did, than you will need more time to go back and get your clothes back. Also, if she should wake up too early it would be most... inconvenient for us to have two of her walking around the school at the same time. Anyway just don't even look at Chang when you walk in, go straight to the librarian and tell her that you lost something and you think that you lost it here. She'll take you back to her office; she has the lost and found stuff in a big locker back there. Hummmm... come to think of it... not a bad place to hide a body and some clothes. Anyway get going, the others will be here any minute, and they only know their part of the plan. 

Seamus nodded, and Marietta gave him a sensual, intimate kiss before he opened the door, and then she stepped back out of the way to remain out of sight.

**~*~**

Cho looked up briefly as the Gryffindor student entered the room and walked over to the librarian.

"Um. Excuse me Miss..." she heard him say.  "I misplaced my watch here the other day, and I was wondering if you could look in the lost and found locker for me?" He said in a thick Irish accent. Miss Pince thought for a minute and rubbed her chin.

"Hummm... well I don't remember picking up any watches. Are you sure you last saw it here Mr..... err..." The librarian started.

"Finnigan, and I'm sure that I left it here. Can you take a look?" he asked.

"Well I'm quite sure that I haven't found one," The Librarian insisted. The boy seemed a bit agitated at the librarian's reluctance to help him.

"Look... huh... it was a gift from me mam last year. It means a lot to me. Can you just look... please?" He said, flowing between agitated and pleading.

"Okay Mr. Finnigan, come this way, but I'm telling you that I don't think it will be in there," she said. The two of them walked to the back room, and Cho continued her studies, now that the distraction was over.

**~*~**

The group of students assembled before Marietta.  They'd had to skip lunch to do so. They constituted most of the purebloods that were Marietta's inner circle. Amongst them were Danielle Forester, Oliver Skint, Pansy Parkinson, Lori Sanchez, and a sixth year Ravenclaw boy named Ian Lewis, among others. All the other students were eating in the Great Hall, except for Cho Chang. Marietta looked her cohorts over and smiled. "Now... is everyone quite clear about their lines? I hope you have all practiced. Everyone ready?" 

Most nodded, but Ian stepped out with a raised hand. "Eh... ummm... look Marietta, I remember what I'm supposed to say, and how I'm to act, but what is the point to this? I mean, it doesn't seem to tie in with the Order's business at all. It just seems we'll be harassing a pureblood girl," Ian said, confused as to the goal of their plot. 

Marietta smiled a big toothy grin, and patted him on the back.  "My dear Ian, Cho has betrayed her pureblood roots, and has to be shown the error of her ways. This is a punishment, and when she accepts who she is, then we will gladly allow her into our ranks. Cho was my best friend, and I have no desire to do this, but it's called... tough love. If we humiliate her, she will eventually see that to be accepted by the right people will cause her suffering to cease. Besides, once she joins us, she will see that she stands to gain many more rewards, than if she still hung out with those mudbloods. I just need to break her spirit, and that will not take long. Now any more questions?" Marietta asked. 

Lori had one but waited before she spoke, as two Slytherins, Draco Malfoy, and Monica Manceria moved past them, late for lunch. They both stopped at the sight of the small crowd gathered round the library.

"Gor... is the library that popular? What's inside?" asked Monica. Marietta wanted to tell them to piss off and mind their own business, but she didn't want to insult two purebloods, especially since she was about to mentally try and crush the spirit of one of her own in just a few minutes. 

Marietta simply smiled at Draco and Monica.  "Sorry, private meeting.  It's not about anything in the library, but please excuse us." Marietta smiled even larger.   Monica and Draco merely shrugged it off and headed for the Great Hall holding hands. 

After they had passed out of sight, Lori approached Marietta, with a question.  "I understand what you mean about bringing her down and punishing her, but, I'm not sure that I understand the insults. I mean... some of these things that we're supposed to call her I've never even heard before. What's a chink?" Lori asked.

"It's a derogatory term for someone who's ethnically Chinese. Look... you don't have to know what it means, just act like you do. And don't all go in at once, or Cho will just move to another seat. Now quickly, anything else?" asked Marietta.

Devin Smith, the Gryffindor boy in the group, piped up, "Well... I have reservations about doing this. I mean Cho never agreed with our ideas and always tried to change our minds about them... but she was always there for us, and, well she always treated us well. It just seems a poor way to repay her." 

"Don't worry Smith... when she stops acting like a child, we'll make it up to her. But really she's only bringing this on her self. Now let's do this. Danielle, you and I will be first," Marietta finished, as she slowly opened the door to the library.

 


	31. Chapter 31: Ambush!

**Author's Chapter Notes:**  
   
Hello again everyone. Well this chapter was very disturbing to write. It really made me sick to write all that stuff, especially since all the physical features that Cho possess are ones that I like the most. Example: almond-shaped eyes, button nose, olive complected skin. I had to put myself in a racist mind, and it’s nowhere I want to be _**yuck!**_ Anyway… this is a really disturbing chapter.  BE WARNED. 

**Chapter 31: Ambush!**

Cho was finally starting to feel a bit better. She was still hungry, but she had almost finished her Transfiguration homework. Marietta and Danielle both walked into the library, and each casually grabbed a random book from the shelf, not even stopping to look at the title, and each sat by Cho, Marietta next to her on her left, and Danielle across from Marietta. Cho looked up surprised, but both seemed to be ignoring her. Odd was the fact that all the other tables were empty, so why were they sitting by her? She didn't want to talk to them so decided that if she ignored them that they would leave her alone. Marietta smiled at Danielle. "Oh Danielle, I found out how Chinks get their last names. Would you like to know how?" Marietta said innocently. Cho made a small gasping sound, but the two ignored her.

  
"Yes, I always did wonder how those slopes got such stupid names. How do they pick them, Marietta?" Danielle asked in a sweet voice that was as far from her character as possible lately. Cho bit her tongue, clenched her fist, and started putting her books in her backpack, still not saying a word.

  
"Well it's really simple, you see. They take a bunch of Knuts and throw them on the top of a pot. Whatever sound it makes, that's what they name them. You know... Ching..." Marietta's smile widened, and she slowly said each word for emphasis, to let it sink in. "...Chong..." Marietta turned slightly towards Cho, and said more harshly "... _Chang!_ " Marietta slowly finished as both girls laughed sadistically. 

  
Cho lowered her head, and closed her eyes. Then she looked up at Marietta.  "Stop making fun of me. I didn't do anything to you two," she said half angry and half hurt.   
Marietta's face suddenly turned one of mock surprise. She gave a gagging sound.  "Hump! Excuse me, was I talking to you? Maybe you should mind your own business, and stop butting into other people's conversation. We're here to study. And you're sitting at _our_ table, and fouling it up. _Blood traitor!"_

  
"You can have it," Cho said, resisting the urge to smack Marietta and Danielle.  She chose to finish putting up her books and move to another table instead. When she had settled at one further away, she took out both a Potions book and her book on breast cancer, each with a book mark set to a specific point. She opened them and began to read, promising herself that she would smack the gruesome twosome if they bothered her again. Cho took out a piece of parchment, and a quill, and began to write down what she would need to mix some particular potions. She would have to go to the potions mistress to ask for permission to do experiments later. Suddenly she felt two people sit on either side of her. Cho's fist balled up ready to strike.

  
"I thought I fucking told you two to..." Cho stopped in mid sentence when she realized that it was her friend Ian Lewis, and a Gryffindor girl that Cho knew only in passing as Lori something. "Oh, I'm sorry Ian, I thought you were..." Cho started but was cut off.  
"You know Cho, we were wondering, Lori and I, why you never eat in the Great Hall with the other students anymore? I mean, is it because they don't serve _rice_ and _cat_ at every meal?" Ian said maliciously with a hateful look on his face. 

  
Cho's jaw dropped, and she could hardly believe her ears.  "Ca... cat? Ian, what are you talking about?" Cho asked not sure what he meant. Lori Sanchez rolled her eyes.  
"Oh come on, everyone knows that's all you people from China ever eat. _Rice and cats_. You probably use them in your restaurants and sell them to us as beef.

  
"I'm from Scotland, and I don't eat cat!" Cho shouted, and began to tear up.   
Suddenly Pansy Parkinson walked up to the table.  "Oh don't be too hard on the stupid gook; after all it's got to be a tough job for her to eat with us. I mean she's got to be at a loss without chopsticks, probably too embarrassed to let people see that she has to eat everything with her hands," Pansy said as she watched Cho start to sob with a contented smile on her face. 

  
Cho reached a shaky hand for her wand, and raised it as another student parted the crowd now gathering around her.  "Now, now, what's going on here? What are all of you doing to this poor girl?" the student, an older boy, asked. He looked at Cho. "Are you okay?" he asked. 

  
Cho was still sobbing. She looked up at the boy through eyes blurry with tears.  "They said... they said..." Cho choked out. 

  
The boy put a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump.  "Now, now, I don't think that you want to go around blasting people with wands, do you?" He said in a soothing voice--a familiar voice. "Now just let me take the wand, and I'll take care of every thing.  I think you might hurt someone with that," he said calmly. 

  
Cho shook her head, holding on to her wand tight, the tears falling from her eyes.   
"Oh, come on now," he said softly. "I promise that we can resolve this without wands.  Just hand it to me, and everyone else will put their wands away as well." Cho looked around, and everyone else in the room had their wands pointed at her, but they lowered them at the boy's words. She looked up at him again, a little scared.  She wiped her eyes of the tears flooding them and peered at him closely.  It was Devin Smith.  He was a Gryffindor; they'd exchanged friendly words often in the past.  He'd even loaned her a book once.  Yes, she could trust him.  

  
He held out his hand for the wand. "Trust me." He smiled. Cho put her wand in his hand, and he casually handed it to Marietta Edgecombe. Cho's knees buckled, and she tried to speak but couldn't from shock at what had just happened. The boy looked at her with pity. "God, Marietta, you were so right. This is the most useless, _**naive**_ blood traitor that I've ever seen.   Now someone was saying that you thought you were too good to eat with the other students. Well, that would be true if the students were mudbloods, and you didn't want to associate with them. But you're a mudblood loving git." 

  
 Marietta stepped forward. She began to speak in a girlish, sarcastic tone.  "Now, now, dear Devin. Cho has a perfectly good reason for having to do her work here. After all... her marks last year were _**shit!**_ But... I suppose that that's to be expected when you have slits like that for eyes. I'm surprised that you don't need a seeing-eye dog and a white cane to get around this school," Marietta said with a devious smile.

  
 Then Devin put his forefingers to the sides of his eyes and began to push the skin back.  "Rook, everyone, I Cho Chink, I do your randry, that all I good for,.  You rike me to cook you a nice, juicy cat?" His mock Chinese accent came out in a nasal whine that made everyone in the room except Cho laugh. Cho remembered that the librarian and a Gryffindor boy were in the back. Didn't they hear this?  

  
Suddenly Marietta grabbed Cho by the collar and pushed her against the wall.  "Listen bitch... we were friends once... so I'll forgive you. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to stop hanging out... with that stupid... mudblood... filth... and start hanging out... _exclusively_... with better people, _**like us.**_ Understand?" Marietta finished, her voice full of hate. 

  
Cho could barely see Marietta through her tears;she was scared because everyone in the room was against her, and everyone in the room was pointing wands at her, and she was hurt because they were calling her names, most of which she had never heard before. Cho reached out with all she had for her next words, as she looked Marietta in the eyes with determination. "Marietta... _**fuck you!**_ " she said as she punched Marietta in the stomach with all her power. 

  
The hit knocked the wind out of Marietta and she fell to the floor, but then the girls in the group took their turns at Cho with vicious jabs to the stomach. Cho was punched by the girls until she collapsed on the floor, and then was viciously kicked while she was down. They all angrily shouted two words at her over and over again. _**"Blood Traitor! Blood Traitor! Blood Traitor!"**_ as she curled up with her hands over her head to avoid getting kicked in the face. 

  
Finally after Marietta recovered, she shouted for everyone to stop. She then approached Cho's shaking crying body, raised her wand, and shouted a Healing Charm. The bruises and blood went away, and Marietta pulled Cho by the collar again to face her. "Don't ever do that again. Your wounds are now healed, but the experience is still in your memory. We're not going to hurt you again after today. Well... not physically anyway. Next time... ha... next time, it's going to be your mudblood friends. I mean it Cho. You side with us, or they will suffer." Marietta said in an almost whispered tone. 

  
Although her bruises had healed almost instantly, Cho still felt the pain from the beating, and the hurt from the names that she was called, and the things that were said about her hurt even more. Cho tried to speak, but Marietta put a single finger to her lips. "Uh uh, no. Don't give us an answer just yet. Chew it over first. Think about those who will suffer. Hummm. Oh and one last thing. You mustn't make trouble in the library anymore. I mean... look at all the witnesses I have that you start stuff in here all the time. One in particular..." Marietta said, and turned towards the back of the library and shouted. **"Oh Miss...!" Could you come here for a second?"** Marietta shouted, and then turned to Cho with a knowing grin. To everyone's surprise Madam Pince walked out of her office and stopped beside Marietta.

  
"Marietta, what are you doing? I thought you said that she wasn't here? Now we're all in trouble." Lori Sanchez said nervously. 

  
Marietta simply smiled and looked at Cho.  "Oh, Madam Pince, could you please tell Miss Chink here that she shouldn't be harassing hardworking students like us who are trying to bring our marks up. I mean... it's hard to concentrate in the library with all her troublemaking," Marietta said in an innocent, girlish voice. Cho looked up at the librarian not able to say a word. The librarian had always been very kind to Cho, but now she bore down into Cho with dagger eyes.

  
"Miss Chang, I am sick and tired of you always causing trouble in this library. You are not permitted in this library again. And you should be ashamed of yourself for always making trouble. Now why don't you just leave, and study somewhere else from now on?" she stated with an air of authority.

  
" **What?** Madam Pince, you know that I don't do anything bad here... they all...." Cho started, wondering if this was all a nightmare, but she was cut off by the librarian.  
"Maybe you should just go back to China. But get out of here now," she said sternly.   
Cho was in tears again, and going out of her mind.  "Miss... please... why are you doing this?" Cho pleaded.

  
"You just shouldn't have been a _blood traitor,_ Miss Chang. Your own fault. _**Now get out of My Library, you slant-eyed, flat nosed, dirt-skinned gook,"**_ she shouted.

  
Suddenly something in Cho broke down. She slowly stood up and walked over to get her book bag. She passed several stunned members of Marietta's gang, who were standing slack jawed at seeing the librarian take their side. As she walked to the door, Devin Smith put her wand in her pocket. She continued to walk to the door and found it locked. Someone muttered " _Alohomora,_ " and Cho slowly looked to see that it was her _"friend"_ Ian. Cho looked at him with hurt in her eyes that caused him to turn away in shame. Cho had never known him to be racist, and they had always been good friends. She had even helped tutor him and helped him bring up his marks a few years ago. He couldn't look her in the eyes now. His lines said, he could speak no more. Cho opened the door, and walked out of the library toward the Ravenclaw tower. She was in a daze, and shaking as she walked.

  
~*~  
There were mixed reactions after Cho left, but almost everyone was feeling boisterous. Pansy Parkinson was congratulating herself loudly; Devin Smith strutted about, seeming especially proud of his role.  One who was not was Ian who was almost crying as he asked Marietta if all this had been absolutely necessary.  Marietta ignored him as she stood quietly at the table Cho had been sitting at holding a book that she had left behind.   
Marietta read the title and stared into the distance a moment.  " **Alright shut up the lot of you. Everyone out!** I need to get rid of the evidence in private. We'll take this discussion up at the next meeting." The students began to file out of the library toward the Great Hall.

  
Marietta stopped Lori Sanchez before she left.  "We need to talk. Tonight. Astronomy Tower. Make it one o'clock" Marietta said in a monotonal voice, with an unreadable expression on her face.

  
"Okay, what about?" Lori asked.

  
"Just be there. Now go," Marietta said, and she watched her leave down the hall. Marietta then locked the door tight and moved to the center of the room. She looked at "Madam Pince". "Hurry up, we don't have much time," she said. The librarian-clone nodded and went back to her office. Marietta then pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, read it, and put it back. She concentrated really hard, and waved her wand around. She shot blue beams around the library, reciting several spells that took her fifteen minutes to finish. Once done, she turned to see Seamus Finnigan standing beside her.

  
"Got what you wanted?" he asked. Marietta looked at the book in her hand, and read the title once more: _ **The Oxford Cancer Institute: Advanced Breast Cancer Treatment Medical Files Volume 5**_ "I'm not sure yet. But I have something." She said in an unreadable voice, "What about Pince?" she asked.

  
"Asleep at her desk. Had a hell of a time getting her clothes back on her," Seamus said.  
"Let's get out of here." Marietta finished. And the two of them started for the Great Hall.  
~*~  
Harry Potter had just finished sighing autographs and was very grateful that so many students still wanted some. Gone was the arrogance of before; this was merely a way for him to make new friends, and he made sure to speak to and thank everyone who came up to him, especially the few Hufflepuffs that did. He was also feeling more confident; when Fiona Burrows walked up to him for another autographed picture, he asked her out to Hogsmeade on the spot. She was elated and screamed "yes!" at the top of her lungs. They set a time, and she hugged him, thanked him, and then ran off to tell her friends that she had been asked out by _The Harry Potter_! Harry looked over to see Ron setting at the Ravenclaw table with Padma Patel; they were holding hands and looking at each other intimately. It surprised Harry, as he thought that his friend had a thing for Luna Lovegood. But he remembered that Ron didn't want to be anyone's steady boyfriend and was just dating Luna, not committed to her either. Harry wondered what Hermione would think of that and stood up and looked for her. He saw her speaking to Michel Corner, a Ravenclaw boy that had dated Ginny Weasley the previous year, and then, past them, saw two other students enter the Great Hall, Marietta Edgecombe and Seamus Finnigan. They stopped against the wall and began talking. The two of them were holding hands and looking at each other intensely. Harry heard a voice behind him.

  
"Hey, Harry, can I get another picture?" Colin asked. 

  
Harry sighed.  "Not now Colin. You've gotten enough," he said politely.

  
"Please Harry? Just one more so I can finish the roll?" Colin pleaded.

  
"Okay. Just one more." Harry said. Harry struck a hero pose with his arms akimbo and his head up as Colin snapped the picture. Colin thanked him, and then went to go see his brother at the other end of the table. Harry looked back to see Marietta leaving the Great Hall, and Seamus going with her. Harry remembered that for the past couple of nights Seamus had seemed to be sneaking off at night. Once Harry had asked him who he was going to see, and Seamus replied that he was going to see Miss Biznezz. First name, Nunya. So Harry had got the sarcasm and dropped the questions.  But now he guessed that he knew who she was. _What is Seamus thanking, taking up with Marietta Edgecombe?_ Harry wondered. He picked up his books and headed to Defense against the Dark Arts class, today being held at the Quidditch pitch. He wondered why. On his way outside, Harry walked by the library in hopes of seeing Cho. He walked by and looked in the open door expecting to see her deep into her studies. But she wasn't there. No one was. _Just missed her_ , he thought. He would go and see her at dinner tonight. 

 


	32. Chapter 32: Dueling Class

  


**Author's Chapter Notes:**  
Back again everyone. Well, this chapter is mostly to show two things:1. Harry is not a wuss when it comes to dueling. It’s just that Marietta was always able to catch him by surprise. But when Harry’s ready, no one's got an edge on him.2. Harry blames Draco for what happened at the Quidditch game, as Draco’s family has money and connections and a motive to go after him.The rest is filler, and well, there is a lot of dialog in it. So I hope it keeps everyone interested. **_And believe me I really am grateful for all of you reading it. Really!_**

* * *

 

                     Chapter 32:  [ **Dueling Class**](http://astele.co.uk/UnknowableRoom/Chapter/Details/viewstory.php?sid=3928&chapter=31)  


 

The collection of Gryffindor and Slytherin sixth years assembled around the center of the pitch where a raised platform of blue, foam mats were set in a circle. Almost all of the students were confused as to the reason for their being at the Quidditch pitch for a Defense against Dark Arts class. _Almost all_. Draco Malfoy, who was as usual flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, was looking at Harry with dagger eyes.

"Oy, Potter, Weasley, you two are in for a real treat today. I told you that I would get even with you, Potter, and now I can do it with the blessing of the school," Malfoy said, as the smiles of the three Slytherins collectively widened. Harry looked at Malfoy with contempt. He knew that it was Draco that impersonated him at the Quidditch match with Hufflepuff, and he knew exactly how he did it. He must have used Polly-juice potion. As soon as he found a way to get Draco alone, he would make him confess, and have his proof. 

Ron leaned over to Harry.  "Do ya think that he knows something that we don't?" Ron asked. 

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but... I think that I know how he got me in trouble in the Quiddich game the other day. We need to talk tonight; we'll have to have Hermione sneak out after hours with us. Can you two call another truce?" Harry asked seeing Hermione talking to another girl a few students down. 

Ron gave a "Humph", then said, "I'm not the problem Harry. Hermione is the one acting so pissy lately. Believe me; I don't look to start the arguments lately."  The two of them stopped talking as Professor Snape walked to the center of the pitch holding several pages of parchment in one hand and his wand in the other. Snape looked around at all the students and spotted Harry and Ron. He then looked over to Draco.

"I have in my hand the results to the vampire test that was taken last week. I was very disappointed to find that only one student completed all the questions correctly. Only one receives one hundred points. You have to do better, people. Nothing less than perfect is acceptable in my class. Now that student receives a twenty point bonus for their house." Snape walked over to Draco. "Now Mr. Malfoy, do you think it's you?" Snape asked cheerfully. 

Draco put his head up and crossed his hands.  "Yes, Professor, it must be." Draco said proudly. 

Snape's smile disappeared in an instant.  " **Well it's not you, and you'd better start thinking of a quick way to get twenty points for our house, because I'm tired of handing them out to Gryffindors and Ravenclaws!"** Snape screamed at the top of his lungs.  "You're disappointing me Draco, I expect better from you, and so does your father." He looked around to see Hermione. "Now Miss Granger... You've passed every test in just about every class with perfect marks, are you ready to receive your points?" Snape asked with a grin. Hermione nodded with a smile, knowing that she answered everything correctly. Snape balled his fist. **"Well too bad. You obviously didn't study hard enough, because you only received a ninety six!"** Snape yelled. Hermione gasped! She never expected to get a wrong answer.

"Professor... there must be some mistake. I'm sure I answered everything right. What could I have possibly missed?" Hermione asked. 

Snape shuffled through the papers and pulled out her parchment.  "Well, for one thing, Miss Granger, when asked to list all the ways to kill a vampire, you failed to mention that you could kill them with silver. That was two points off right there." Snape said. Hermione shook her hand violently to ask a question.

 "Yes, Miss Granger?" Snape said in a bored tone.

"Professor, I think that silver is used to kill only werewolves," she said. 

Snape smiled.  "Really? Are you sure... enough to risk losing an additional two points on your paper?" 

Hermione thought about it. How could she be wrong? She had studied the lesson over and over. Ron tried to get her attention, trying to tell her not to do it. Hermione nodded. She would take the risk.  

"Did you bring your book to class Miss Granger?" Snape smiled. Hermione nodded again. "You would, wouldn't you. Alright, Miss Granger, turn to page six hundred and seventy three." Snape said. 

Hermione turned to the page and read the lesson. She read all the ways to kill a vampire: stake through the heart, fire, cross, decapitation, holy water, amongst others, and. at the very end, silver. How could she have missed it? Would this affect her marks forever? Was she doomed to become a below average student? But Snape had said that she had lost four points, and the question was only worth two.

"Professor Snape. You said that I lost four points. What other question did I miss sir?" Hermione pleaded. Snape's smile was the largest anyone had ever seen.

"I'm glad that you asked that in public, Miss Granger. You signed your name Ronald Weasley, with a heart beside it. If I hadn't been able to recognize you handwriting I would have thought that he turned in two exceedingly long papers."  Hermione blushed as several of the students in the class giggled and laughed. She was so embarrassed about what had happened that she started to run off the field but came back after Professor Snape shouted that she would get a failing mark for the day if she left. Snape walked through the students and rhetorically asked them who the student was that aced the test that was one of the most difficult that he had ever created. "The student in question has a history of being only a mediocre, barely average student, yet was able to pass my most difficult test so far." No one could answer. Snape walked back to the center of the students and over to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, can you tell me how you managed it?" Professor Snape asked suspiciously.

"Managed what, sir?" Ron asked innocently.

"Managed to get a perfect score on such a difficult test, Mr. Weasley. Did you have help from another student? Did you have someone else turn in a paper with your name on it? _Did you cheat?_ " Snap said, not fully believing that it was Ron's work. 

Ron was offended at the accusation.  "I didn't cheat Sir. My brother Bill was obsessed with all things vampire a few years ago. Vampires were all he ever talked about, and I guess I just absorbed some of what he was talking about. I mean, he had all the vampire novels and comics and everything. He even dated one for a time, but they could never hang out during the day, and she was about six hundred years too old for him. Anyway, I guess I passively got into it as well, Professor." Ron said in one breath. 

Snape looked at him unconvinced.  "Really Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked.

"Really Professor." Ron replied.

"Than perhaps you wouldn't mind telling us what vampire defeated the Golden Dragon of Canterbury?" Snape asked. 

Ron thought for a second, closing his eyes to concentrate.  Soon, he recalled a book of Bill's that he had read about the subject. Ron raised his head, and looked at Professor Snape.  "I believe it was Brian Boyd, the Vampire from Dublin, sir." Ron said confidently. 

Snape gave him a surprised look, and a capitulating sigh.  "Fine, Weasley, you get your twenty," Snape said agitated. He handed the papers out to the students and waited for them to put them away. Hermione kept hers out, still traumatized at the mark on her paper.

"Now listen closely, everyone. Due to the events that took place in the Ministry of Magic last year, it has become clear that many of you may face some dark forces in the near future. Many of you may wish to join the new Wizarding Army being raised, upon graduation. I will now be overseeing your advancement in dueling techniques. If you all remember, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart and I gave you a small taste of it in your second year. Well, now you have come a lot further along in your training, but you have to be much more aggressive. We will have duels in this class; you can use any curse, hex, or jinx you wish... except of coarse for those three that you may never use." Snape said this seriously. He pointed to a tent with a red cross on it. "After you lose a duel, Madam Pomfrey will be there to cure... _eventually_... any students affected by the curses used. Only sixth- and seventh-year students are taking this instruction, so feel privileged. Remember anything goes except for the three Unforgivable Curses. We'll... yes Miss Granger, what do you want?" Snape said, seeing Hermione with her hand up.

"Excuse me, Professor, but do you think that the headmaster would approve of this... 'anything goes' rule? It seems so dangerous," Hermione said. 

Snape gave her a disgusted look. "Well, you can talk it over with him in you own time, but it might interest you to know that it was _his_ idea. Now would you like to challenge any other of the head master's ideas, Miss Granger? I mean, since you seem to know better than everyone else." Snape said livid. Hermione shook her head. Snape motioned to Neville Longbottom to come forward and handed him a clip board with a piece of parchment and a quill.

"You keep the records, Longbottom." Snape said as Neville nodded. Now, who shall we start with?" Snape said to himself. "Mr. Dean Thomas, step up here... and Mr. Theodore Nott," Snape said casually. 

The two students faced each other and after some last minute instruction by Snape, each gave a bow to the other. Snape counted off. "Ready?" Snape asked, and the two students held their wands ready, and each nodded. "Three... two... one... **_Go!"_** he yelled. Thomas shouted out the appropriate word to use the Conjunctivitis curse on Nott, and Nott tried to use the Bat Bogey Hex, but too late, and was sent flying back with his eyes shut. He was quickly escorted toward the medical tent by two other students. Snape seemed disappointed and called out the next two students. "Parvati Patil... and Millicent Bulstrode!" Snape shouted and the two students observed the courtesies. "Three... two... one... **_Go!_** " Snape shouted. Parvati tried to say the Densaugeo curse seconds too late as Millicent yelled out "Furnuculus!" more quickly and was able to move her wand about correctly before Parvati could counter. Suddenly Parvati was covered in boils and had to be taken to the medical tent by a couple of her fellow Gryffindors, as she screamed in pain. The dueling went on and on with the Gryffindors having slightly more victories than Slytherin. Harry and Ron watched with sincere interest waiting for their turn.

"Vincent Crabbebe... and Seamus Finnegan" Snape called out. Crabbebe took the center stage, and waited, but Finnegan did not appear. Snape looked around irritated. "Seamus Finnegan?" Snape shouted again. No reply. "Where the hell is Mr. Finnegan?" Snape asked. Everyone looked around.

"He's not here sir." Ron shouted. 

Snape quickly turned to him.  "I can see that Mr. Weasley. Go to the castle and find out what happened to him. And he had better have a good excuse for not being here," Snape said. Ron shrugged and headed to the castle.

"Vincent Crabbe... and Harry Potter," Snape shouted. Harry and Crabbe moved to face each other, each giving the minimum bow, and reading themselves. "Three... two... one... **_Go!_** " Snape yelled. "Crabbe tried to use Incendio to burn Harry, but Harry was able to give him the Incarcerous curse first, and Crabbe was bound by ropes instantly. Then Harry used a Babbling Curse for good measure. Crabbe was escorted to the medical tent, ranting on incoherently, by two other Slytherins. Harry started to step down from the raised mats.

" **Not so fast Mr. Potter!"** Snape yelled. Harry turned around and waited. Snape turned to Gregory Goyle, and motioned him to the dueling area.  After a bow and a countdown, Harry made short work of him as well. Snape started sending all his Slytherins against Harry one at a time, each being defeated in succession. Finally he sent Draco Malfoy up to face off with Potter. "Now Mr. Malfoy... Mr. Potter. Each of you tell me, and the class what spell you intend to use before we begin," Snape said. Each boy thought for a minute. Finally Draco raised his head proudly, and said...

"I plan to use a transformation curse that will turn Potter into a piece of dragon dung, Professor." Draco laughed. Harry was steaming mad. Draco had already done enough to him, by impersonating him in the Quidditch game, and now he thought he was going to turn him into a piece of dung? Not bloody likely! Harry thought.

"And You Mr. Potter... what will you use?" Snape asked. 

Harry looked at Draco contemptuously. "I'm going to turn Draco into a stupid git... oh, wait. Too late. Well, I'll just have to give him the Snapis Limbis curse that randomly breaks one of his limbs," Harry said enjoying the thought of sweet revenge that he would have against this son of a Death Eater who had impersonated him in the Quidditch match and made him more enemies. 

Snape smiled.  "You're sure that's the one you will use, Potter?" Snape asked. Harry nodded. "Good, alright, ready? Three... two... **Wait! Wait**... stand fast." Snape said. He looked around. "This is getting redundant. Let's make things more... interesting. Draco step down." Snape said in a reflective tone. Draco's mouth dropped open.

"Oh, come on, please, sir. I can take him no problem. Just give me a chance." Draco protested. Snape shook his head, and motioned Draco to step down, which he did.

"Snapis limbis huh? Alright. Let's set you up with a new opponent. **Miss Granger** , step up." Snape shouted.

" **What?"** Harry and Hermione shouted in unison.

"Oh, come now, there's nothing in the curriculum or rules that say you cannot duel with someone of the same house. Now get ready," Snape shouted.

"Sir, Hermione's a girl." Harry protested.

"I'm glad that you know your genders, Mr. Potter. May I remind you that there is a full-fledged war coming our way and that Miss Granger's opponents will most likely not be only girls, or even mostly girls. Oh, and you had a good idea about the Snapis Limbis Curse, Miss Granger. You try and use that one too," Snape said mischievously. Harry and Hermione faced each other with looks of horror on their faces.

Harry looked back at Snape.  "Well, actually I think that a Stupefy Charm would be better. I could..." Harry started, but was cut off.

"No Mr. Potter, you wouldn't have had a problem using the Snapis Limbis on Mr. Malfoy, so you can use it on Miss Granger. Now bow to each other and get ready. Harry looked back to Hermione. Harry walked up to her, and he and Hermione conversed in whispers. 

"This is stupid, he's just being a sadist, and he's getting off on seeing us hurt each other." Harry said.

"We... have to... to do it, Harry," Hermione whispered back.  "Everyone's gone to the medical tent today.  It'll only be painful for a few minutes, and then Madam Pomfrey will fix us up... and afterwards, if you want to, we can go to Dumbledore and complain."

   "Mr. Potter! Take your position. Move away from Miss Granger to the other side of the circle!" Snape shouted. 

     Harry slowly backed over toward his side of the circle, hissing, "I don't want to see him yet. I still have issues with him, and..."  

"You have to try, Harry," Hermione replied gently.

   "Quiet, you two.  Concentrate on your opponent! Stay focused!" Snap shouted bitterly.

" **Three!"** shouted Snape.

"I can't do it, Hermione. I can't," he cried.

 "Stand ready, Harry. Madam Pomfrey will take care of us," Hermione assured him.

" **Two!"**

"Ever broken your arm before?" Harry was shouting now. "It hurts really badly even for a short time. Remember that bludger of Dobbie's in our second year?" 

" **One... Go!"**

 Harry and Hermione pointed their wands, and Harry gave a motion for Hermione to move left.  As she did, he shouted the incantation for the jinx, which barely missed her. She then gave a quick motion to Harry to duck and used the same jinx, missing him. This went on for a minute before Snape shouted at them to stop. "Well, Mr. Potter, it seems that you two don't know how to use this jinx too well. I guess that Draco needs to show you how to do it. Draco, get up there, and use the Snapis Limbis Curse for your duel," Snape shouted angrily.

"Finally!" Draco smiled, giving Harry a mischievous look as he stepped up on the mats. Hermione started to step down.

"No, Miss Granger. Stay where you are. Potter, get down. The opponents for this duel will be Draco and Miss Granger," Snape said casually. Draco turned to him with a look of surprise, as did Harry and Hermione.

"This is unacceptable, Professor! That Jinx is too painful to use on another student! I protest." Harry shouted. 

Snape folded his arms.  "Really, Mr. Potter? You didn't seem to have a problem when you were going to use it on Malfoy. In fact it was your idea, was it not?" Snape said casually.

"Well that was when it was Malfoy. I wouldn't use it against a girl." Harry protested. 

Snape's smile slowly faded.  "Really? Were you not using it on her just now, or were you missing on purpose?" Snape asked.

"You know I was! So what!" Harry asked contemptuously.

"So you get a failing mark for the day, and you can go, and I think that word will go around the school about how you only enjoy abusing and jinxing members of the other houses, like what happened at the Quidditch pitch with the Hufflepuffs, and you only seem to have a problem with Gryffindor students, your own little elitist group. But don't worry. Draco and Hermione will be using the jinx, not you."   He looked to Draco and Granger and instructed them to bow, which they did. Harry looked on with anticipation. "Three... two... one... **Go!** " Snape shouted. Hermione shouted the incantation, but Draco used a shield charm to block it. He then pointed his wand at her left and shouted the incantation at the same time. Hermione moved left to avoid the spot where she thought that Draco would fire at and was caught by the full force of his blast, her left leg breaking in two places, which caused her to fall backward screaming in agony."

"Noooo!" Harry shouted. He pulled his wand to hit Malfoy. "Incendio!" Harry shouted, but Snape had already guessed what he would do if Malfoy had won and used an Expelliarmus to knock the wand from Harry's hand, leaving Draco only a little singed.

" **Accio wand!"** Snape shouted, and Harry's wand went flying to him. He gave Harry a look of deep hatred. "You can have this back when you can act like a civilized human being, Potter. After I have a talk with your head of house. Now help Malfoy get Miss Granger over to the medical tent," Snape said pointing to Hermione, who was still moaning in pain. Draco had used the Ferula charm to make a splint for Hermione, and he and Harry supported her on each side, as they walked her to the medical tent. Several students who had been jinxed earlier were walking out cured.

"I knew you were going to move left to avoid my jinx, Granger. You moved left every time that Potter fired it at you. You became predictable and complacent. That's why I fired to the left of you instead of straight at you. You jumped right into it," Draco said proud of himself. 

Harry's face was red with rage. " **Shut up Malfoy!"** he shouted. 

Malfoy turned to Harry with an even brighter smile.  "Just too bad that it couldn't have been you, Potter! That would have been really satisfying. But I think that we might be doing this tomorrow as well. Professor Snape has been training me personally in some particularly nasty jinxes. You'll see." 

Harry shot a hateful glance over at Malfoy as they entered the tent and put Hermione on a cot. She had been moaning in pain all the way there. Madam Pomfrey gave her a Cheerful Charm to stop the pain and a glassful of Skele-grow to knit the bones in her leg. 

Harry looked at Malfoy.  "You seem so proud to be the teacher's pet, Malfoy.  Does he tuck you in to bed at night and read you bedtime stories?" Harry asked in a tiny, mocking voice. Malfoy balled up his fist, telling Harry to shut up. But Harry was mad, and he knew that it was Malfoy that had set him up at the pitch during the game, most likely using Polyjuice potion, and it was Malfoy who just broke Hermione's leg. Harry was angry, and it took every bit of effort to control himself.  "But I can understand your need for a new father figure, Draco, since your own father is going to be sent to Azkaban, and you'll never see him again." Harry smiled. 

Draco shot an angry glance at Harry and raised his wand. Harry reached for his own, didn't find it, and remembered that Snape had taken it up. Madam Pomfrey saw what was going on and shouted at the two students to cut it out or they would be sent to the headmaster. 

Draco shot one more hateful glance over at Harry.  "This isn't over Potter," he said and then left the tent. My thoughts exactly, Harry thought as he watched him leave.

"Harry, come over here!" Hermione called to him from where she was lying. 

Harry walked quickly over to her.  "Are you okay, Hermione?" he asked her.

"Much better now. You were right about the pain. Madam Pomfrey said I have to keep off it for a few hours because it's still going to be sore for a while. So I'll catch up with you later. Hey, Harry, don't let that git Malfoy get to you. I'm okay now, and it was within the rules." Hermione smiled, still a little giddy from the Cheerful Charm. 

Harry nodded.  "I'll try Hermione, but it's not just that. Malfoy is the one who impersonated me on the pitch during the game with Hufflepuff. I know it was him. I dreamed that the person used an Invisibility Cloak to hide my body. You have to have a lot of money and connections to get one of those. It has to be him, working for You-Know-Who in his father's place." Harry said very quietly. 

Hermione looked at him amazed.  "How do you think he's doing it Harry?" Hermione asked. 

Harry gave a slight smile.  "I think that he's using Pollyjuice Potion, and I think that I know just the person... err... entity to help us find out where he's mixing it." he said. Hermione was going to ask who it was, but about that time Ron came into the room, and she suddenly started acting like she was in tremendous pain. 

Ron rushed over to Hermione, concerned.  "Hermione! Are you okay? What happened?" Ron asked, surprised. 

"Draco broke her leg with the  Snapis Limbis Curse while they were dueling. Snape had them square off just to be sadistic," Harry said agitated.

"Those slime balls!  When I get my hands on Malfoy..." Ron started. 

Madam Pomfrey came over to them when she heard Hermione moan in pain.  "Still feeling bad, Miss Granger? That's odd. I thought you were just fine a minute ago. I'd hit you with another Cheerful Charm, but it'll really make you a little silly, so I think that you'll have to stay here a while longer."  

Hermione opened her mouth to protest too late as she was hit by the charm and started to giggle. After Harry and Ron made sure that she was okay, they headed back to the castle.

"Oh Ron, whatever happened to Seamus? Where was he?" Harry asked. 

Ron shrugged, saying that he had no idea.  "I thought that he was probably asleep since he leaves the dorm every night after curfew, but I couldn't find him in the common room. I think that Snape will give him a failing mark for the day."  Harry nodded. Ron stopped and turned to Harry. "Oh, Harry Professor Jittlov is having an open Special Effects class at Hogsmead for the first weekend. You should bring Fiona. I'm bringing Luna, I would invite Hermione, but I don't think that she'll come. Besides, girls tend to flip if you invite other girls on dates with you," Ron said. "But it's a really cool class so far. All we've done so far is go through a magic portal to Hollywood and watch Muggle films and learn about moviemaking equipment. But soon we're going to learn to do special effects magic. I don't understand everything that the Professor was talking about, but he mentioned stuff like stop-motion, animation with pixilation, and something called a 'blue screen', so it will be interesting."

"Sounds like it. Where will it be?" Harry asked.

"The Three Broomsticks has a room in the back that will have the class, just for that day. We have to go through a portal for regular class, because all the magic at Hogwarts shorts out the Muggle equipment."  Harry nodded and they both headed for their next class.  
  
---


	33. Chapter 32: Filches Living Quarters

 

   Vodkaholic: Hit me up at my myspace at  myspace dot com/highice007

 

**Chapter 32: Filche’s Living Quarters**

Lori Sanchez had been waiting atop the astronomy tower for fifteen minutes, and was shaking from the cold, and about to give up and go inside. She looked at the light coming from Hogsmead, and heard the sounds of people working on something big, wondering if the society was setting up, and preparing things now, for the rally. It was cold, it was one fifteen, and she was about to leave she thought. Where the hell is she?

“Hello Lori.” Marietta said casually. Lori jumped with surprise.

“ ** _Shit!_** Marietta, you scared the crap out of me!” she said.

“Why, you were expecting me.” She replied. Lori shrugged.

“I don’t know, I guess that I’m just… afraid of getting caught after curfew. What did you want to see me about?” Lori asked arms folded from the cold. Marietta thought for a second, and looked at Lori.

“Lori… I know you took the oath, and I would never question your dedication to the society, but I have to ask… do _you_ have any doubts that you are one-hundred percent loyal to it? Would you be willing to do anything to advance to cause of purebloods all over the UK, and Europe?” Marietta asked. Lori gave a small chuckle.

“Yes Marietta, I am very sure of my loyalty. I know that the society has called upon me, and I am ready to take our world back from the Mudbloods, and Blood Traitors, and send them packing to their own world.” Lori said. Marietta walked around her, looking her over from head to toe, as if searching her for some doubt. Finally Marietta stopped, and looked Lori in the eyes.

“I’m very glad to hear that Lori. Now I have a very important question for you. How do you like your detentions with Professor Sprout?” Marietta asked.

“What do you mean, how do I like them? I hate them! Having to spend two hours a day with that Mudblood woman, hands deep in dirt, and helping her grow mandrakes for the second years to use. Miserable. And the crazy nutter is way into her job, practically lives in the green house. After class, on weekends. I have these keys to get in, so that I have everything ready for her when she comes from her office, which she only goes to ta grade papers. She was showing the Head Master the new shipments of pincher plants the other day, and knocked over one, right at my feet. _It pinched me_ , and it hurt. Clumsy bitch.” Marietta seemed really interested in what Lori was telling her, she seemed to be hanging on every word, but Lori was just letting off some steam.

“Fascinating! Tell me more, every detail. Is she really clumsy as a habit?” Marietta asked. Lori was surprised that Marietta developed such an interest in Herbology, and Professor Sprout.

“Well not really. I mean, it’s just that… well you know, accidents happen. I’m just mad that the plant pinched me when it did.” Lori said. Marietta looked at the sky reflectively.

“Yes your right, they do happen. Accidents, I mean. And you’re sure that the Head Master saw her knock it over?” Marietta asked with genuine interest. Lori gave a sigh.

“Yes Marietta, I’m sure, now why are you so interested in my detention?” Lori asked. Marietta didn’t answer her question, but countered with one of her own.

“How many mandrakes, are there, and how far along are they?” she asked. Lori was thinking that Marietta was going mad, and it must be the cold. She explained that she did not know the number of them, but that they would be in adulthood by late February.

“And does Professor Sprout know about the number of them?” Marietta asked. Lori was getting annoyed at this weird questioning.

“I guess, she’s obsessed with Herbology enough for it. Look Marietta, what’s going on here? You could have asked me these questions in the great hall… _where it’s warm!”_ Lori said, more aggravated now than annoyed.

“Look I’m sorry Lori, but this is important. Just a few more questions, what would happen to you if one of the mandrakes went missing?” Marietta asked. Lori’s eyes opened wide.

“Then I would be in detention for a month, spending every weekday after school with that inferior person.” Lori complained.

“And what if you were not around when it went missing?” Marietta asked. Lori threw up her hands, and rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know Marietta. I think that the Mudblood would probably find a way to blame me anyway.” Lori said her face red from the cold, or anger… Marietta wasn’t sure which.

“Look I have a mission for you Lori, find a day that you get to the green houses before she arrives, and take one of the Mandrakes, out of it. Bring it to me, or hide in the very edge of the Forbidden Forest. If you bring it to me, do it at night, and bring two sets of earmuffs. But I prefer you to take it into the forest, just inside where it can’t be seen. If you do that remember where you left it so that you can tell me the exact location. Do you understand?” Marietta said in a serious tone. Lori looked at her blankly.

“Are you off your chum Marietta, I said I would get more detention. What could your plan possibly be?” Lori asked. Marietta gave her a comforting pat on the back, and told her not to worry. It was orders from the top, and she couldn’t disclose the reason why. Lori would just have to trust her, and if necessary “take one for the team”, and she would make it up to her with a shopping trip later, at her own expense. Lori remembered all the beautiful things in Marietta’s mansion, and remembered that she could afford a lot. Well maybe it would be worth it, but Marietta had better be ready to dish out the Galleons if Lori was going to spend a month’s detention, with someone so inferior. Marietta smiled at Lori.

“Look Lori, you’re the only one who can do this, I’m sure that Sprout will have more than a mere lock charm on the door, and I don’t think a simple unlocking charm will get me in. Now I know how dependable you are, so I know that you can do it. Now get back to your nice warm bed, and don’t talk about this to anyone else in the society _. Not anyone!_ Lori nodded and gave a salute with a raised right arm, hand pointed out with the thumb bent back. Marietta returned it, and they both left their separate ways.

**_Later in Filches office:_ **

“You’re late! Very late Marietta.” Semis complained in a thick Irish accent.

“Can you blame me? I had to wait outside, under the invisibility cloak for the ghost to take a break from hugging the wall. They spend forever here. I’m going to have to bewitch another room in another part of the castle to get them away from here. But I did talk to Lori, so at least that’s out of the way.” Marietta said annoyed. Semis raised an eyebrow.

“What did you want to talk to her about?” he asked.

“I needed to find about that Mudblood teacher Sprout. I need to open up a new position for a new teacher when you replace Dumbledore. I also need to get rid of that disgusting giant in Magical creature’s class as well.” Marietta said.

“And did you find a way to do it?” Semis asked.

“NO. I only had Lori go over the details of what goes on during her detention so that I can come up with something. But I think that I can use the Mandrakes to my advantage somehow.” Marietta finished.

“What’s a Mandrake?” Semis asked.

“Just a dangerous plant.” Marietta said. “How were classes’ today love?” She asked. Semis brought a cigarette up to his lips and took a drag. He closed his eyes and let out a puff of smoke. He looked at Marietta casually.

“I don’t know… I didn’t go to most of them. I slept in this room all day.” Semis said casually. Marietta’s eyes went wide.

“Why didn’t you go to class?” she asked a little upset. Semis laughed.

“Why should I? We’re going to get rid of Semis when were done anyway. It’s not like it maters if he graduates or not. Marietta gave a sigh.

“It’s important that you don’t get detention. You need to be free to move about as Semis.” Semis lay back in the bed, he was nude, and Marietta noticed the scar that was with her boyfriend no mater whose form he took.

“Well I couldn’t go to Defense against Dark Arts class anyway. It was at the Quidditch Pitch and that’s out of my range. I can’t go to that class tomorrow. I asked if I could go to Madam Pomfrey, but was told that she had a tent down at the pitch. So I came here to sleep, and haven’t left since.” Semis said taking another drag off his cigarette. Marietta looked troubled by something. Very troubled.

“What’s bothering you Marietta?” Semis asked. Marietta handed Semis a thick book that she had been holding, and closed her eyes in concentration.

“This is bothering me.” She said. Semis looked at the title.

“A book on brest cancer? Do you have it?” He asked surprised. Marietta gave a hump!

“No as a matter of fact I don’t. Cho was reading it in the library, when we ambushed her this morning. It’s a muggle book. Why would Cho Chang be reading a muggle book on breast cancer?” Marietta asked.

“Maybe she has it.” Semis said with a shrug. Marietta shook her head.

“No, that’s not it. You see. Cho’s mum has been sick for a long time. I was in St. Mungoes this past summer, and so was Cho’s mum. Cho and my friendship broke when I started insulting her Mudblood friends. I never found out what happened to her mum, except that she left hospital, so I assumed that she was okay, because she left. Well, the Changs have always been… well quite when one of them is really sick. Cho never talked much about her mother’s illness, but I got the impression she wanted too. One time an aunt of hers died, and she wasn’t supposed to talk about it because of some Chinese superstition. But I could tell it hit her pretty hard. She really wanted to confide in me, but couldn’t because of that fact. I think now that maybe her mother didn’t get so well. I think that her mum has breast cancer. Now I’m at an impasse, I feel drawn to use it against Cho, but I respect her family. They are pureblood, and never intermixed, even though they didn’t have a problem with Cho dating that dead Huffelpuff boy. I respect her family for staying pure. I don’t want them to suffer. ” Marietta said seemingly depressed.

“So what are you going to do?” Semis asked her curious. Marietta took the book back from him, and ran her fingers over the indented letters of the title. She thought about how she could hurt Cho with the new knowledge that she believed she now had. She also thought about the times that their families had spent together. Marietta looked at the words Brest cancer again, taking in the full weight of the meaning of the word. She was quiet for a moment, deep in thought.

“Well?” Semis asked. “What are you going to do with the knowledge?” he asked. Marietta put the book on a shelf, and turned to Semis.

“For now… nothing. I can use other ways to hurt her. This will be a last resort.” She finally decided.

“Hump. Well I’ll be interested to see what you do to her next Marietta. After he let the smoke out of his lungs Marietta jumped on him, and began to kiss him passionately.

“Mmmmmm… I missed you love. We never get anytime together. It’s not fair.” Marietta frowned. Semis ran his hand through her hair. Assuring her that after this year that they could be together, but for now they would have to just deal with it. Marietta ran her hand along his ribs, and felt the scar. She leaned over to look at it, and looked back at Semi’s face. “So when are you going to tell me about the scar?” Marietta asked. Semis looked down at her.

“You really want to know about the scar?” He asked. Marietta nodded. “Alright… a long time ago, in nineteen twenty six, a brilliant man by the name of Premier Baron Gi-ichi Tanaka wrote a plan for the conquest of the world titled the Tanaka Memorial. It was Japan’s destiny he believed to rule the world. I was impersonating a Japanese General at the time that he presented the plan. I usually didn’t stay in one form for too long, and was about to move on from the three years that I had stayed in Japan. It was a brilliant plan, but Japan didn’t have the resources to wage a war. Still… the man was so brilliant that I had to stay on and see what happened.” He said. Marietta looked confused.

“Love what does that have to do with anything?” Marietta asked. Semis kissed her.

“Patience dear.” Semis said casually. “So as I was saying, Japan didn’t have the resources to take over the world. Then came Nineteen thirty one. Ah that year… I miss it. Under the banner of the Emperor we invaded Manchuria, a mineral rich area in Northern China. It didn’t take us long to take it and put it to our own use. In addition we made a deal to buy scrap metal from the United States. Together we put the two good fortunes to our use, and in nineteen thirty seven we invaded China proper, with much success. We even tried to invade the former Soviet Union, but that turned out bad, and we had to sign a treaty. During this time another muggle in Europe had the same idea to take over the world. His name was Adolph Hitler, and he also wanted his share of conquest. We formed and alliance with him and put the Tanaka, memorial into action. But first we had to get rid of the American and British influence in the Pacific Ocean. I took over the identity of a particular racist commander at Singapore. We defeated the British colony, but a Welsh Soldier stuck a bayonet in my side, before he was shot down in turn. Normally that wouldn’t have had an effect on me, but when one of my kind stays in a body too long, we become susceptible to the limitations of that body type. We can be damaged like your kind, I mean human, not Muggle, or Wizarding kind. So I carry the scar because I impersonated him too long. Anyway I stayed with the Japanese until the end of the war, because for the beginning we were wining every battle against the UK and her allies. But things turned angst us, and we lost the war. I didn’t change sides, until Americans stepped on Okinawa. I surrendered there. You see I had spent so long there that I had forgotten what I was for a while. I was lucky. At the time I knew of another of my kind serving in the Japanese military at the time. He was imitating an officer in Hiroshima, but that’s a story for another time. It’s safer for our kind to cause trouble in the muggle world, because in the wizarding world Auroer’s destroyed many of us. I had been moving among positions close to world leaders when Professor Ian Watson found me, and employed me in his service, and here I am, with my scar.” He said. Marietta looked at him near speechless.

“I don’t understand? Are you saying your Japanese?” Marietta asked. Semis laughed.

“No… I was simply telling you why my scar will always be here. That’s why I’m a bit concerned about being Mr. Finnegan for too long. My kind actually evolved from the swamps of the earth, about a million years ago. Just evolution. Our ability to become other entities started as a defense adaptation. Now we use it to cause chaos in the muggle world. But we have our weaknesses. This scar represents one of them.” He said. Marietta looked at him curiously.

“And why do you cause chaos?” she asked.

“Simple”, he said. It’s just in our nature. That’s what your plan will do to the magic world. That’s one of the reason’s I agreed to do this.” He said. Marietta gave her boyfriend a dirty look.

“My plan will _not_ cause chaos, but insure stability and control in this world, and I would hope that you sighed on for more than just the chaos wish. What about me?” Marietta asked, offended. Semis smiled.

“Oh yes of course for you too. You have potential to be vicious yourself. You proved that in Dover this summer. You impressed even me. That was very impressive.” Semis finished. Marietta smiled, and lay back in his arms.

“Yes, well Dover was my personal treat to myself. I was lucky to find out that I was next in line, and that she was a mudblood. She turned to face him and he began to unbutton her shirt.

**The next morning:**

“ **Marietta wake up you vile little girl!”** Filch screamed. Marietta shot up from her uncles yelling, and rubbed her eyes. She felt wet and looked back. She had fallen asleep in her lover’s arms, and when he had fallen asleep as well, he reverted back to his actual jelled form, which Marietta was now lying in. Filch had come in to sleep just before the usual time that the shape shifter left to the Gryffindor dorm, and found Marietta in his sleeping quarters. Filch started to berate her about sleeping with magical creatures, and being out after curfew, and _“Doing it”_ in his quarters! Marietta looked at her bewitched watch. Six thirty AM. She looked up at Filch, wanting to insult him, but too tired to fight. She stretched her arms and gave a loud yawn.

“Are the ghost outside uncle?” she asked. Filch looked at his niece with utter contempt.

“No! But who knows how long until they are back. Now get out.” He said through gritted teeth. Marietta walked out of Filche’s living quarters and into his office, her clothes damp from sleeping on the blob that was her boyfriend. She looked around the office.

“I have to put another spell on it now uncle.” She said sleepily. Filche’s eyes went wide.

“Not now girl! Later. Please don’t open it while I’m here.” Filch pleaded. Marietta looked at Filch, and rolled her eyes.

“Alright dear uncle, then leave and I’ll lock up behind you. But I have to do it now.” She complained. Filch rushed out of the office, locking the door behind him, but it was okay because Marietta had her own key. Marietta moved the chair that was in front of Filche’s desk to the other side of the small office. She then used her wand to magically lift a part of the floor up, and reveal a casket in the floor. She smiled and opened it. What it contained had started to rot, so she flicked her wand, and shouted a preserving incantation, that repaired damage from decay.

“Good as new. Hopefully we will not need to use you, but just in case, we need to keep you fresh.” She said closing the casket, and putting the piece of floor, and the chair in place. Marietta walked out the door, and locked up. She started toward the Ravenclaw tower when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Marietta, Marietta Edgencombe! What’s in it? What’s in the room?” The voice of the Gray Lady of Ravenclaw whispered. Marietta looked back at her, and gave a discussed grunt.

“Mind your own bloody business.” She said annoyed, and walked off to the tower.

**Breakfast in the Great Hall:**

Cho walked into the Great Hall with her head hung low. She was miserable in every aspect of the word, but she had things to do today. Chief amongst them was talk to professor Penfield, about using her laboratory after regular classes to try and mix a cure for her mother’s ailment. Another was to ask Harry Potter to Hogsmead. She didn’t want to be the one to ask, as it was traditionally the guy who asked the girl, and the reverse might make her look too desperate. But what was she thinking about. It was obvious that he was going there with his girlfriend Hermione Granger. Still Cho had to ask, some masochistic force seemed to be leading her to such a fate, she thought. As Cho walked toward her usual place at the Ravenclaw table, flanked by the Gryffindor table on the other side, she passed by Lori Sanchez, who made a “Meow!” sound as Cho passed. Cho stopped, and felt as if hit in the heart by a bludger. She pressed on past Lori toward her seat. As she passed Marietta, and Daniel they made the same cat noise at her, and she fought back tears as she sat next to Luna, and Nancy. Cho was in no mood to talk, and could only manage a weak “hi!” when her friends greeted her. Cho then looked over to the Masters table to Professor Penfield, busy with her own meal. As soon as the food appeared on her table, Cho ate very quickly. Nancy, Beverly, and Luna looked at her with concern.

“Umm, long time no see Cho. I guess you being back here mean you’re caught up with your lessons. Right?” Beverly asked.

“No, I just um, I got tired of the library. I’m going to study somewhere else from now on. I just need some place new.” Cho said in a barley audible voice. Then continued to quickly eat her food. Everyone could easily tell that something was not right with Cho, and it made them all uneasy.

“Cho, what’s wrong? Did something happen to you? You seem so distant.” Luna said softly. Cho shook her head.

“No. I’m okay. I just… I’m just tired.” Cho said. Nancy put a hand on her shoulder.

“Look Cho, we’re your friends. We can tell when something’s wrong, if you don’t want to talk about it now, we understand, but just know that like you’ve always been there for us, were here for you, okay?” Nancy said in a comforting tone. “But Cho. Would you please at least eat lunch and breakfast with us from now on? I mean, we can help you with your work after class.” Everyone nodded agreement. Cho nodded, but didn’t know herself if she meant it. Cho remembered Marietta’s threat about her friends being next. Would they really do it? Cho thought that they must be empty threats, and that they were only after her. But Cho would keep a close vigil on her friends to protect them just in case. The more she was with them, the more she could protect them. She was the target for Marietta’s abuse; Marietta had no reason to attack her friends, so she didn’t need to tell them about her threats just now. Besides she didn’t want to tell them about what else went on in the library. She didn’t want the attention. Better to keep it inside for now. Cho looked over at the Gryffindor table at Harry. He was busy chatting with Ron Weasley, the boy that Luna liked. Cho had to go over and ask Harry out. She slowly walked over to Harry at the Gryffindor table, her knees jello, but she had to ask him anyway. She walked up to him, short of breath.

“Umm. Harry, could I have a word with you please?” She asked nervously. Harry looked up at her and frowned unintentionally. Cho had made her beautiful strait black hair brown and added curls. She still looked beautiful, but he instantly missed her hair the way it was.

“Oh! Err Cho, you um Changed your hair, what’s up?” Harry asked. Cho looked around at the other Gryffindor students nervously.

“Umm, yea, well I wanted to go with something different. Uh, can I speak to you in private please Harry?” Cho pleaded. Harry nodded, and got up from the table. The two walked over to a part of the hall near the masters table where no one was. Harry looked at Cho’s beautiful olive complection skin, and enchanting almond shaped eyes. His heart skipped a beat, at the vision of her beauty, and even though she looked so sad, even that had a beauty all its own.

“Soooo what’s up Cho, why the new look?” Harry asked. Cho felt suddenly very self conscious.

“Do… do you like it? Umm, I was just trying something new.” She said.

“Err, yea, it umm… looks great.” Harry said. It wasn’t a lie, she looked absolutely beautiful. But he really did miss her strait, black hair. Cho smiled shyly.

“Thank you Harry. Umm, Harry… I, I’m sorry to ask you, but… would you go out with me to Hogsmead?” Cho asked, her voice slightly shaking. Harry was stunned. Every instinct told him to say yes, something in his heart told him that he needed to get back with Cho, despite his past with her. But wasn’t some of his past with her good in some ways? She stood up for him when almost no one else would. She was always nice to him; she supported Diggory, in the Tri Wizard Tournament, but never wore a Potter Stinks button. But still Harry had already asked Fiona out, and she seemed to be popular in her own right. Just like Cho, Fiona, seemed to have a lot of friends hanging around her as well. Harry was reluctant to hook up with Cho, because she was always depressed, and seemed to cry a lot. That’s why he wanted only to be friends with her. But why was he having these feelings now. It was confusing. He looked down at Cho, who was standing in nervous anticipation. He swallowed nervously.

“Cho… I um… I already have a date. Umm… I did tell you that I just wanted to be friends.” Harry said.

“Oh… right. Umm… I’m sorry, I forgot. Um okay I got to go.” She said in a monotone voice. Just checking…” she said nervously backing away from him. Harry genuinely regretted asking Fiona out at this moment. He could tell that Cho was really hurt.

“Are you okay Cho?” Harry asked. Cho smiled and nodded, still backing away.

“Oh yes, absolutely Harry. I just have a lot of studying today. And I have to go to see um somebody. I have to… well I’ll see you later Harry, um. Bye.” Cho said, and turned and walked down the Great Hall. As she passed Marietta Edgencombe, she saw her smiling at her. Marietta was waving her wand in a small circular motion as three Knuts moved up and down banging on a pot, while Danielle sat beside her singing “ching, chong, Chang, in a girlish voice.” Cho sped up her pace as her eyes started to water.


	34. Chapter 34:  The  Jinxing Torso

  
**Chapter 34:  The  Jinxing Torso  
**

Cho stood in the doorway of the Potions classroom listening to Professor Pinefield finish up with her students. When the bell rang, everyone clamored to get out of the class and head to the next one. Cho walked in and nervously approached the professor, who looked up in surprise.  
"Can I help you Miss...?" the Professor asked politely.

Cho looked up at her.  "Um, hello Professor Pinefield, My name is Cho Chang. I had a favor I needed to ask you. Umm... well, you see I was wondering if I could do some work here using the Jinxing Torso... after your last class, of course. I would be real quiet, and not get in the way. I need to do some extra credit work for... um... Defense against the Dark Arts class, and... well Professor Snape doesn't have a Jinxing Torso. So I needed to use the Potions class one... if I may," Cho said quietly.

Professor Pinefield looked at her with curiosity.  "You want to use the Jinxing Torso? Why doesn't Professor Snape have everyone doing the assignment?"

"Oh, well, I'm behind, and, well, I need to catch up. He thought that I could practice by myself on the Jinxing Torso. I mean if it was okay with you," Cho lied.

Professor Pinefield looked at Cho suspiciously for a minute. "And do you have a note, Miss Chang?" the Professor asked. Cho fumbled for the nonexistent note for a few minutes and then looked up at the Professor.

"Well I guess that I misplaced it, but I can go back and get it if..."

"No need, Miss Chang, I believe you. I recognize you from the Great Hall. Professor Flitwick pointed you out one day when we were discussing his best students. Of course, he said that you had some problems over the last couple of years, and your marks fell drastically. I have a few more classes today, but come after your last class is over, as I usually stay after about an hour correcting papers and updating files." Professor Pinefield pointed to a large stack of papers that almost reached the ceiling.  She went on, wistfully, "Professor Snape had his own system for keeping important files. I wish that I had some way of sorting out files, and being able to bring them up and correcting them quickly."

"You need a computer," Cho said pleasantly.

Professor Pinefield looked at her blankly.  "What's a computer?" she asked.

"It's a muggle device that makes things a lot easier. But there is too much magic at Hogwarts to use it," Cho said casually.

Professor Pinefield chuckled.  "I don't think that we have any reason to use Muggle devices. We need not learn anything from them."

Cho frowned.

"Actually I have Muggle friends and family, and I think that we could learn a lot from them," she said a little defensively.

The Professor smiled at her.  "That didn't exactly come out the way that I had intended. I didn't mean to offend you Miss Chang. You can come back in a couple of hours, and I'll have the Jinxing Torso out for you." She smiled. Cho returned the smile, thanked her sincerely, and left for her charms class that she would be late for. But it didn't matter, she would be able to use the Jinxing Torso to try and find a cure for breast cancer, and she would be able to save her mother and so many other people. When she found the cure then she would share it freely with the world and no one, Muggle or wizard, would have to suffer such tremendous torment ever again.

~*~

Harry was having another bad day. He had been looking forward to Defense against the Dark Arts class all day, thinking that he would be dueling with Draco Malfoy, but when he got to the pitch he found that it would be against the sixth years of Hufflepuff. Snape said that he did it to give the Hufflepuffs experience fighting a skilled dueler, but Harry believed that Snape knew about the problems he had with that house, and wanted to further the animosity between them. At first, like the day before, Snape had random Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs square off. It wasn't much of a fight, so far, if it had been a match for points for each duel won Hufflepuff would be at three and Gryffindor seventeen. Hufflepuff just wasn't a good house for accomplishment. Cedric Diggory was a bright light in an otherwise unsuccessful house.

Harry had just been called up to the center of the pitch after Seamus was discovered missing for the second time in as many days. This time it had cost Gryffindor forty points, because Snape had talked to Madam Pomfrey, and Seamus never went to see her. Snape was aggravated that a second day had gone by and Seamus had still not showed up.

Harry stood ready for Snape to call his opponent.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley!" Snape called. Justin walked up and stood opposite Harry. He had attended Harry's DA classes the year before but now looked at Harry with an angry scowl. Harry was worried that he had lost some friends in Hufflepuff after the incident, and now he felt that Justin was among those who didn't believe him. Harry bowed at Snape's command, and wondered if he should let the Hufflepuff win. Maybe it would ease the tension of the Hufflepuffs if Harry took a fall. Okay, Harry thought, I can afford to lose just this once. Just for the sake of the Hufflepuffs getting some satisfaction and finally putting this all behind us. Snape stood up and shouted the countdown.

"Five... four... three... two... one, **_Go_**!" Snape screamed. Harry hesitated saying an incantation as he brought his wand up, and Justin shouted a boil curse that missed Harry by millimeters. Harry fired back an Incendio curse, intending to miss, but Justin, in trying to avoid where he thought Harry was going to fire, stepped right into the incendiary charm that Harry had let loose and was, in turn, hit with a blast of fire in his eyes that had him screaming in pain. Two Hufflepuffs walked the crying, blinded Justin over to the medical tent where Madam Pomfrey awaited him. Harry shook his head at his bad luck and began to step out of the center of the pitch.

"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Potter? I'll decide when you step down. Now prepare yourself for the next duel," Snap said rudely.

Harry looked at him with a mixture of anger, and frustration.  "Oh come on Professor, why do I have to go again. There are eight other students that have not gone yet," Harry complained. "Why don't you let them go now?"   

Snape gave him a hateful look and told him not to tell him how to run his class. Snape then called Susan Bones to the center and instructed the two of them to bow for the duel. They did and Susan gave Harry a friendly smile. Harry returned it, and they prepared for the signal from Snape. Harry decided to go with an Airburst Charm, and say it slower so that Susan would be able to sound hers off first. Snape counted down and screamed **_"Go!"_** Harry paused for a second and started to say _Aeris Concussionus_ , slowly to let Susan hit him, but Susan stammered mid-incantation, apparently changing her mind which spell she would use. The hesitation caused Harry's spell to finish, and Susan was blown off her feet by a strong burst of air, which hit her with such force that it knocked her back, slamming into a crowd of her fellow Hufflepuffs. She was taken to the medical tent clutching her stomach, along with several of the bystanders she had ploughed into. "Dammit!" Harry thought. "It's hard to lose to a Hufflepuff." Harry knew that Snape was enjoying this and wouldn't let Harry off until he had dispatched a few more Hufflepuffs, and become even more unpopular with Hufflepuff house.

"Emit Walsh!" Snape shouted, and a very pissed-off-looking Walsh stepped onto the mat facing Harry. When the two bowed, Emit gave the bare minimum bow required. "Well this is it!" Harry thought nervously. If I let Emit hit me with something then Hufflepuff's revenge will be satisfied, and so will Emit's. Harry readied himself, and Snape gave the countdown.

"Five... four... three... two... one, **_Go!"_** Snape shouted. Harry raised his wand but gave no incantation. Emit Walsh gave a mutation spell that caused Harry's entire face to move to the opposite side of his head. It was not painful but disorientating.  Harry tilted his head back and found himself looking down at his arse. He was ready to go to the medical tent when Walsh zapped a crate that someone had brought to sit on, and Transfigured it into a Bludger, causing the person who had been sitting on it to fall over. Walsh sent it flying into the air with a Levitation charm. Before Ron and Hermione could get to Harry to take him to the medical ten,t Walsh sent the Bludger crashing into Harry's back with blunt force, knocking his wand clear of him. Harry was knocked backwards, and since his face was now on the back of his head it slammed into the mat, bursting his lower lip.

Walsh continued quickly with a Twisting charm that painfully coiled Harry's legs like a cinnamon twist.   Harry started crying in agony from the pain as Walsh smiled at his work.

"Feel good Potter? How do you think that Cindy Miggins felt when you knocked her off her broom? I'm going to show you how it feels, you evil bastard!" Walsh yelled. He used a Levitation charm to raise Harry about two hundred feet, ready to drop him.

Hermione looked at Professor Snape.  "Aren't you going to stop him?" she asked in alarm.

Snape gave her a scathing look and continued to watch the match before him.

"Now you're going to feel some pain, Potter! Now you're going to suffer like my friend Cindy, in St. Mungo's. She's still in a coma, and they don't know if she'll get better or not. So now you're going to pay!" Walsh said as he used his wand to spin Harry around, making him dizzy.

"Walsh, you have to believe me, it wasn't me. It was Draco Malfoy! He was using Polyjuice Potion to imitate me. He used an Invisibility Cloak to hide my body! That's why I was... in my school uniform so fast. Because I never went to the field that day. I know...  it was...  him." Harry said, becoming nauseous from the spinning.

" ** _Liar!"_** _Walsh yelled. **"You just wanted to take as many of our players out as possible so you could get the cup!"**_

"Damn it, Walsh, you're the worst team at Hogwarts! Why would I have to do that? You never win! I'm telling you it was Draco Malfoy using Polyjuice Potion, and an Invisibility Cloak. You have to believe me," Harry said, but Walsh was now angry at the remarks Harry was making about his team and removed the Levatation charm, causing Harry to freefall to the ground.

Suddenly Snape yelled out a Cushioning Charm of his own, and Harry landed softly on a yellowish cloud a few inched above the grass. Snape walked over to Harry and cast a spell that untwisted his legs. He looked at Ron and Hermione and instructed them to take their friend to the medical tent to have Madam Pomfrey finish removing the rest of the jinx.  He also told Harry to report to his office as soon as it was done.

Snape looked around at the students; some of the Gryffindors were in a shouting match with the Hufflepuffs about what had happened at the Quidditch match and what had just happened now. Many of the Gryffindors claimed that it was a cruel thing for Walsh to do, and many of the Hufflepuffs said that Harry only got what was coming to him. It seemed a fight between the two houses was escalating when Snape yelled at everyone to shut up. He dismissed the Gryffindors first to go to their dormitories. When the Gryffindors had reached the castle entrance, he then released the Hufflepuffs.

"Not you, Mr. Walsh." Snape said in an authoritative tone. "You're coming with me to my office, and you're going to tell me in great detail everything that happened at that Quidditch match."

In the medical tent, Harry's face slowly moved over to the front of his body, and settled in its proper place.

 "There you go Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, "good as new, though you might be a bit dizzy from the experience for a while."

"Thank you, Miss," Harry said gratefully. Hermione helped him sit up, and he looked at Ron who was feverishly writing on some parchment with his quill. "What are you doing, Ron?" he asked.

Ron looked up from his work.  "I'm writing up Walsh. He's going to spend the rest of the year in detention after Dumbledore sees this. I mean we can't depend on Snape to notify him," Ron finished angrily.

Just then Justin Finch-Fletchley walked by wearing shades and being guided by another Hufflepuff boy out of the tent.

"Finch-Fletchley... I'm sorry about what happened. Really." Harry said apologetically. The two didn't stop as Justin told Harry to piss off and that he should really be saying that to Cindy Miggins. Soon Susan Bones walked up to Harry, having woken up from being knocked out. Harry made an apology to her as well. She gave him a pat on the back and told him that there were no hard feelings, and that whatever happened at the pitch, he was still The Boy Who Lived. She also reminded him that he needn't apologize for zapping her, because it was a fair duel. She left the tent quickly after Harry thanked her for her understanding.

Harry looked back at Ron who was still busy writing Walsh up.  "Umm... look, Ron... if it's all the same to you, I'd rather let this one go.  I mean... now Walsh has had his revenge I don't think that he'll do anything like that again, and if he tries I'll take care of it. Really.  I just think the Hufflepuffs that are against me will be satisfied now."

 Ron looked up at him with surprise.  "Harry, Walsh basically tried to kill you. He needs to answer for it. He was way out of line."

"Look, I went to see Cindy Miggins the other day and... well she looked real bad. I just understand how Walsh was feeling, and it was obvious that they were close. I just want to put it behind me, okay?" Harry finished.

Ron gave a large sigh.  "Okay, Harry, but I'll be watching him from now on. If he tries anything else, then I'll zap him with the same thing he hits you with.

Harry nodded.  "Fair enough. Now I've got to go to Snape's office for something-what it is I have no idea. Harry stood up and walked out of the tent, telling Ron and Hermione that he would see them in the Great Hall.

Harry sat in Snape's office waiting for the Professor to return. It had been ten minutes since Snape had told him to wait there. Finally Snape returned with an arm full of potions bottles, and set them up on his desk. He looked at Harry with deep anger.

"Mr. Potter. Do you have any idea of the seriousness of accusing another student of a crime without proof?" Snape said coldly. Harry nodded. "And do you know that you could be punished severely for making such false accusations?" Snape continued.

"Yes sir," Harry said.

"Then let me explain this to you, Mr. Potter. You have accused a student in my house of impersonating you and attacking students on the Quidditch pitch and hiding your body with an Invisibility Cloak. What proof do you have?" Snape continued.

Harry thought for a minute. What proof indeed? He looked up at Professor Snape.  "Well... Malfoy's had it in for me since I got to this school, and he has been harassing me every year." Harry said.

"Really, Mr. Potter. and that makes him guilty of impersonating you?" Snape asked.

"Wel,l it proves that he had motive!" Harry said.

Snape looked down at Harry with disgust.  "And I suppose that motive is the only proof you need to convict someone?" Snape asked casually.

"Well... no but..." Harry stammered out, starting to lose his confidence.

"Mr. Potter, perhaps it might interest you to know that Invisibility Cloaks are not only very expensive, they are also very rare. Now does that sound like something that Draco Malfoy would have ready access to?" Snape asked.

"He's rich, and his father is a Death Eater. So yes. They would have the means to buy one, and they would have connections in the black market. I could definitely see them getting their hands on an Invisibility Cloak." Harry stated.

Snape smiled.  "Really Mr. Potter, Lucius Malfoy has not yet been brought to trial, and I would thank you not to convict a man until he's had his day in court." Snape said.

Harry was getting frustrated at Snape. He was an Order member, and he knew that Lucius was a Death Eater.  "I fought him at the Ministry of Magic last year. I know he was there. I can prove it," Harry retorted.

Snape gave a small chuckle.  "Mr. Potter, no one is debating whether he was there or not. He says that someone put him under the imperius Curse, and he had no control over his actions."

"Rubbish." Harry said. "He knew exactly what he was doing."

"Wel,l Mr. Potter, that's for other people to decide, not you. Now what can you tell me about these?" Snape asked as he pushed the bottles of potions on his desk toward Harry. Harry looked at them as Snape named them off, and he recognized them as the ingredients for making Polyjuice Potion. Harry told Professor Snape as much. Snape pushed another bottle forward and said that it contained already made Polyjuice Potion.

Snape gave Harry another cold look.  "Now Mr. Potter, do you know what's missing from here?" Snape asked.

"No sir," Harry said.

"Nothing is missing from any of these bottles, Mr. Potter. Nothing. I think that the papers may have been right about you last year: you're violent and delusional. Oh, understand, I do what Dumbledore tells me, but I just want you to be clear on my personal opinion. And I talked to Emit Walsh; don't think that I alone have that view. Now go, and don't accuse my students of things you have no proof of, and don't try to pass the blame for your own violence onto my students either. Especially Draco Malfoy. He has enough on his mind without having to deal with you."

Harry was outraged; he balled up his fists, but Snape was right. He had no proof... yet. Harry walked out of Snape's office wondering if Snape might be helping Draco, and wondering why Dumbledore trusted such a horrible person to be in the Order.

~*~

Cho Chang held one end of the Jinxing Torso while Miss Pinefield held the other, and they both carried it over to the long table that had been set aside for it's use. With effort, they laid it in the center chest up. Cho looked it over once it was in place. The Jinxing Torso was a device used in magical classes to test potions. It functioned as a training tool in much the same way that  the training dummies served as instruction devices at the Muggle hospital that Cho had worked at.

But this dummy was different. It was an exact replica of a male human torso from the waist up to the neck. The skin felt just like real human flesh, and it had exact copies of human organs. The Torso had been created using numerous charms to allow students and teachers to test the effects of potions, hexes, and jinxes on the human body without actually using one. The Torso could breathe with actual lungs, and blood was pumped around inside. Vital organs, large and small, functioned as in a real body. Students in Advanced Potion used their finished mixtures on it to test how accurate their work had been, and, at the end of a day on which it was used, the effects would be erased. But it was still an unfeeling, inanimate object, and Cho was glad because she was going to test some potions that she had made to try and cure her mother's breast cancer.

Cho had been able to make a few copies of cancer cells during a lunch hour that she had spent in the class. Now she was going to infect the Torso and then try and cure it of its ills. She carefully applied some of the cancer cells, and let them sink into the Torso, as everything did. Then Cho added some growth potion, and the cancer cells multiplied and settled in the chest of the Torso. Because it was a magical learning tool, the infected area glowed green so that Cho could see where she needed to apply the healing potions. Cho started with one that she had made from silver-weed and dragon scales, along with some other minor ingredients. The green glow recoiled at the effect of the potion sinking into the Torso, but then expanded to its original size, covering the full chest area. Cho was not deterred and tried another potion of beetle eyes, and lizard tails and viscous oak sap along with some other odds and ends. The same result occurred, and Cho started mixing another potion. Before long, Professor Pinefield started asking Cho if she was about finished, as she needed to close up for dinner. Cho continued to request five more minutes until the Professor could wait no longer. Cho begged more time, but the Professor would not hear of it and almost had to push Cho out the door. She walked back towards the Ravenclaw dorm with an ever constant frown on her face. Suddenly, in an otherwise empty hall she saw Harry and Ron walking toward her.

"Um, hello Cho, how are you? Harry asked, feeling uneasy about the events earlier in the Great Hall.

"Oh, I'm fine Harry, Mr. Weasley.  How are you two?" she said pulling on a false smile with great effort. They both replied that they were well.

"Um, great, well, Harry... did ya find out anything else about the match the other day?" Cho asked.

Harry looked around to make sure that they were alone, and leaned toward Cho.  "I'm sure that it was Draco Malfoy impersonating me. I don't have the proof, but I'm sure that it wasn't really me at that match, not even under the Imperius Curse. I had a dream about the dy of the match, and it felt _so real_. I remembered everything about it. I remembered that the person who impersonated me used my Quidditch uniform and kept the real me hidden under an Invisibility Cloak. Now those are really hard to come by. Draco has motive, and his family has money, and his father is a Death Eater. Also he's had it in for me for years. I know he did it. In my dream, he used a spell to open the wall after he shed my Quidditch uniform that he was wearing. I was unconscious and still in my school uniform when my teammates found me. So I know that it was someone impersonating me and not my body being used for the purpose," Harry concluded.

Cho could feel his hot breath on her face as he spoke and wanted to faint from the good feeling inside her. She took in every word but was dizzy. She looked up at him again with a sad face and tried to stammer out the next words.  "Um, Harry... the thing is... you really don't remember what the other person did while they were impersonating you. I mean you're not supposed to remember anything if someone impersonates you using Polyjuice potion," she said quietly.

 "Then how else could Malfoy have done it?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, but... he may have still used it, but maybe Harry's dream was just a coincidence."  A new idea took shape in her mind.  She looked sharply at Harry. "Or maybe you have some special ability to know about someone taking control of your body... or mind."

Harry pondered the idea for a minute. No, the Occlumency lessons with Snape had been a total disaster last year, or had they? In any event whether he was supposed to remember or not, he did, and even if there were no potions missing, he was sure that Draco must have gotten hold of some. He just had to find a way to prove it.

"Cho, um... I was hoping that you and Hermione and Luna could meet in the library tomorrow to try and find something out," Harry said.

Cho's olive complexion turned pale, and her mouth dropped open.  "Um, Harry, can it be somewhere else? I mean I can't go to the library for lunch. What about by the lake, or the courtyard? Please, Harry." Cho begged.

Harry was taken aback by her attitude.  "Well, Cho, I mean there are no books in the courtyard, or by the lake. That's what we need to study, and I've to put a new priority on getting some evidence on Malfoy."

Cho thought hard for an alternative. She looked back up at Harry.  "Well, what about the Room of Requirement?" she asked. "If we need specific books, they will be available there if we wish for them, and we won't have to search through so many others. Cho said.

Ron nodded his head in agreement.  "She's got a point there, mate, less looking around, and no librarian looking over our shoulder." Ron said.

 Harry nodded his agreement.  "Alright, the Room of Requirement it is. But why the wish to avoid the library, Cho?" Harry asked, curious. "I mean you're always there."

"Yeah, it's almost like you own the place-well, you and Hermione," said Ron.

"I... I know, umm that's just it, I've really gotten tired of it. Please understand," Cho pleaded.

Harry nodded. He was looking into Cho's sad eyes again and dreaming about her warm, soft touch, wishing that Ron was not with them at the moment, and that he had not asked Fiona out to Hogsmeade, and wishing that just now he could sort out why he was feeling that he wished that they were the only two people in the world. Harry smiled at Cho, and everyone said their goodbyes, going in separate directions.

Suddenly Cho had a horrible thought about the fact that You-Know-Who was still out there, and that he had tried to kill Harry many times. She looked back at Harry, horrified at the thought of something happening to him. She became short of breath, and ran up to him.  "Harry! Harry wait." Cho shouted.

Harry turned to look at her.  "What's wrong Cho?" Harry asked. Cho looked up at him with fear and asked if what the papers said about the Dark Lord were true. Harry nodded but said that Voldermort was still out there. Cho asked if Voldermort was still after Harry for defeating him. Harry replied that he was, but that as long as he remained in Hogwarts that he was safe. Cho hugged Harry in a tight, tearful embrace and didn't let go for several minutes. When she finally did, she looked up at him once more.

"Be careful, Harry, please be careful," Cho begged. She wiped her face, grabbed her books, and ran down the hall as quickly as possible. Harry stood there watching her disappear around the corner. Ron looked at him curiously.

"Say, mate, what's the story with you and Cho?" Ron asked.

Harry turned to him with a sad face.  "Just friends," he said softly.

Ron gave a smirk.  "You sure, Harry? Because she seems to think of you as more than that." Ron said.

Harry gave a sigh.  "Well, that's what I think of her as, just a friend," Harry said.

"Then what's with the tear, Harry?" Ron asked.

"She was crying when she hugged me, Ron.  She's always crying," Harry said sadly.

"Fine, but when she did, her face was on the left side of yours," Ron said.

"So?" Harry said, confused.

"So what about the tear on the right side of your face?" Ron asked.

 Harry wiped his hand carefully over his cheek and looked at the small, salty drop of moisture in his hand. He stared at it for a moment.

Ron patted him on the back.  "You need a moment to yourself, mate; I'll be in the Great Hall." Ron said, and left Harry to reflect alone, still looking at the testament of his lie to himself about how he really felt about the girl whom he had just held in his arms in a moment that he never wanted to end.

  



	35. Chapter 35: The Third Bewitched Room.

  


**Chapter 35: The Third Bewitched Room.**

**_The Room of Requirement:_ **

Hermione stood up and went through the names of the Slytherins that she had interviewed written on the black board again. She was speaking to Luna, Harry, Ron and Cho, and explaining that she had interviewed several people about the whereabouts of Draco Malfoy during the time period, that Harry was at the pitch, and none of the Slytherins that she had spoken too had seen him during the last period of class. “Of coarse that’s only the ones that would speak to me, and Harry. If it were not for his popularity I don’t think that any of them would have listened to me. But with the help of Fiona Shaw I got in a few interviews. She was able to convince them that Harry was a hero, and popular, and that they should cooperate if they didn’t want to be outcast of the school. But no one seemed to know where he was at the time, or where he was for a while. So we’re trying to find some clues as to what he has been up too. I think that Harry is right and that it’s definitely Draco behind this whole thing. After all, just like Harry said, he has connections, motive, and money to have an invisibility cloak, and a mind for trouble.” Hermione said, wrapping up her findings. “Cho, did you have any ideas since our last meeting?” Hermione asked. “Cho?” Cho was sitting on the opposite side of the table, arms, propping up her head. She had deep circles under her eyes, and seemed to be staring right through Hermione. Luna waved her hand in front of Cho’s eyes without result. Finally Luna started to shake Cho violently, and she came out of her stupor.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Cho asked sleepily, dark circles under her bloodshot eyes.

“Cho, you feel asleep again, and we needed to know what you did about finding out about Draco’s whereabouts, and proof that he’s behind this.” Luna said.

“Oh, sorry. Well last meeting Harry had recounted how that Barney Crouch Jr. guy had used Polly-Juice potion to impersonate Mad-Eye Moody. Harry had mentioned to me that Moaning Myrtle had found some traces of Polly-Juice Potion in the water pipes of the school, so I asked her to look through the pipes for new traces of it, or anything suspicious. She only agreed after I had told her it was for Harry and… **_YAHN!”_** Cho stopped and yawned in mid sentence, and looked around the room apologetically. “I’m sorry guys; I’m just a little tired. I just need some sleep.” She said rubbing her eyes. Hermione nodded.

“Well I think that we’ve accomplished everything that we could from this meeting, we’ll meet back in a few weeks, unless we find something sooner.” Hermione said. Everyone started to get up to leave. Harry walked up to Cho who was excessively dragging, and seemed to be in a daze. He grabbed her arm.

“Cho, are you okay? Is there something wrong?” Harry asked. Cho looked up at him with bloodshot, sleepy eyes that had dark circles under them and gave a weak smile.

“I’m fine Harry; I just need to go sleep now.” Cho said. Harry looked at her with surprise.

“But Cho, it’s only lunch time; what about you’re other classes?” Harry asked. The smile faded from Cho’s face.

“I… I’ll just have to miss them. Beverly Jones can bring the assignments too me.” Cho said, having trouble keeping her eyes open. Harry nodded and she began to walk away. Hermione was in the doorway with a smile.

“Cho, can I ask you a question?” Hermione asked. Cho was tired, and didn’t want to answer any questions, but she nodded her head anyway and waited. Hermione looked uncomfortable. “Um, well I thought that the other day when you walked in the great hall that a couple of the people from my table were making cat sounds at you. Are some of our lot bothering you?” Hermione asked concerned. Cho lowered her head for a moment, before she answered. She looked up and told Hermione that no one was, and that they were probably not making them towards her. Perhaps Hermione was just mistaken. “Alright Cho, well um just checking. You can come to me if any of us is bothering you though, okay?” Hermione asked. Cho nodded and thanked her. She left the room to head strait to the north tower, and bed.

Harry watched Cho leave very concerned. He turned to Ron and Hermione.

“I’m worried about her. She sleeps at every meal, right at the Ravenclaw table. I’ve seen her from across our table. She never goes to the library anymore, and she seems, well… to be avoiding me.” Harry said.

“I know what you mean Harry, I’ve asked her to join my study group several times, but she seems to be avoiding me too. She always has an excuse, but I have the feeling that she prefers to spend time alone.” Hermione finished. She looked at her watch. “Well we have to go to Harry; I’ll see you in class. Luna, I’ll see you at dinner. _Ron_ …” Hermione finished saying the word Ron in an accusing tone. Hermione started out the door, and Ron followed a minute later, tired of the fights that they were having of late. Harry was about to leave as well.

“Harry, can I speak to you for a minute?” Luna asked, looking worried.

“Sure, what is it?” Harry asked. Luna looked down for a minute and then raised her head to look at Harry.

“Harry there _is_ something wrong with Cho. She’s going through a really hard time right now, and… I’m really worried about her. Cho was one of the few people in my house that have been nice to me.” Luna said.

“Look Luna, if this is about Cedric, I really don’t want to deal with that again this year. She’ll just have to get over it. I mean you can’t keep mourning a person for the rest of your life. She has to get over it Luna.” Harry said.

“It’s not about that Harry, it’s about…” Luna stopped suddenly, and remained quite. Harry was intrigued.

“What is it about Luna?” Harry asked. Luna looked around the room, and then back at Harry.

“Harry, Cho… well I can’t tell you what’s exactly going on, but she… she has some other problems in her life, and they are serious. She, goes out of our tower every night after curfew, and doesn’t tell anyone where she’s going. She used to tell me everything, but lately she’s starting to withdraw from everyone. Maybe you should start spending more time with her, and take her to Hogsmead. I mean she really needs you right now.” Luna finished. Harry looked in deep thought.

“Look Luna, I already have a date to Hogsmead, and, well Cho and I have agreed to be just friends… last year it got complicated… she still cries all the time…” Harry stammered.

“She has reason to cry now more than ever Harry.” Luna said in a sad tone. Harry looked at the serious expression on her face.

“What reason Luna?” Harry asked. Luna opened her mouth to speak, and looked as if she was about to tell Harry, but hesitated.

“Harry, Cho’s family is very secretive when it comes to personal family maters. There not suppose to discuss serious family maters with anyone, but, Cho does with me sometimes. She’s very fragile, and needs you now, even though she can’t tell you the reason. Just please understand that she’s going through a lot.” Luna said with great concern. Harry looked back at her sadly.

“Look Luna, I want to help, but if she will not talk to me, I can’t do much about it. I don’t want to sound so cold, but I have problems of my own right now.” Harry said. Luna nodded her head in understanding. She told Harry goodbye and they left for class.

**_Two weeks later: The Gryffindor Common room._ **

“Harry… Harry Potter… wake up Harry.” The playful female voice squeaked. Harry slowly began to open his eyes. His blurry vision came into focus and he saw that Moaning Myrtle was hovering above him with a playful look on her face. Harry sat up quickly and looked down to make sure that the sheets were still covering him.

“Myrtle… what, what are you doing here?” Harry asked surprised.

“Tee hee hee, silly Harry, you invited me here, although I had a hard time finding which room you were in. I have some news that…” Myrtle began, but was cut off.

“Wait a minute! What do you mean I invited you here?” Harry said confused. Myrtle gave a giddy laugh.

“Ah, poor Harry, don’t you remember? You sent Miss Chang to tell me that if I found anything suspicious that I should tell you or herself. Well here I am, and as you can see from the bruise on my forehead I found something.” Myrtle said.

“What did you find Myrtle?” Harry asked, observing the bruise on her forehead with great interest. Myrtle smiled, and instructed Harry to follow her. Harry woke up Ron and the two grabbed Harry’s invisibility cloak. Harry observed that Seamus was again not in his bed, and Harry and Ron moved out the common room and down the hall. Harry and Ron followed Myrtle carefully under the cloak past Filche’s office which curiously no ghost had gathered at. Moaning Myrtle had moved ahead of Harry and Ron, and was beaconing them from afar to follow her. They stepped up their pace to catch up to her, and ran into something that knocked them over.

“Owww!” Cried the voice of a girl, and they heard something scampering down the corridor in the direction of the North Tower. Harry and Ron scampered to their feet, and followed the sound, but soon lost pace with it struggling to both stay under the invisibility cloak. Moaning Myrtle asked Harry what was keeping them so long when they finally caught up with her. Harry out of breath asked her if she had seen anyone run past her. Myrtle had said that she hadn’t but had heard something scurry, bye. She thought that it may have been a mouse since she could not see anything. The three moved at a slower pace toward the school rooms by the North Tower. After a few minutes of walking they noticed a strange bluish glow coming out from under one of the classroom doors. Harry noticed that it was coming from the Potions classroom. Harry looked up at Moaning Myrtle, and asked if what she wanted to show them was in there. She shook her head, and the three put their ears to the door to listen in. They could hear someone making noise inside. Harry tried to pull open the door, and discovered it was locked. Harry then turned to Myrtle and rolled his eyes.

“Pssst, Myrtle! You’re a ghost. You can just go through the wall.” Harry said in a loud whisper. Myrtle stuck her hand through the wall to test it, and then stuck her head through to look around. After a few minutes she brought her head back out to report what she had seen.

“It’s that Ravenclaw girl who’s always crying. Cho… err something or other.” Myrtle said. Harry’s eyes went wide. There was only one Cho in Hogwarts, and only one Cho in the world that he had ever met.

“Cho Chang is on the other side of that door?” Harry asked. Myrtle nodded her head, and giggled.

“And it looks like she’s giving a nasty spell on that jinxing torso too.” Myrtle said. Harry held his wand to the door and shouted “Alohomora” spell to unlock the door. Harry opened it just enough to stick his head in, and saw a girl with her back to him, standing in front of the Potion’s class Jinxing Torso, and several bottles of potions both of witch were on a table. The torso’s chest was blackened with some strange curse, and the girl was pouring some strange potion over it. The blackened part of the torso began to lighten, and the girl gave out a gasp, and then as quickly the torso darkened again. Harry thought that he heard the girl crying just before she screamed and flung her arm across the table in frustration, sending several bottles crashing to the floor. The girl fell to her knees sobbing uncontrollably, and saying over and over again that it wasn’t fair. Myrtle was looking in again. Ahh, the Gray Lady was telling me about this girl, she’s the one who’s been sleeping in class a lot lately, losing a lot of points for her house too. She’s here a lot lately. She’ll lose more if she’s caught here.” Myrtle said. Harry stood up, and wondered if Cho had gone over the edge. What could she possibly be doing here this late at night, jinxing a torso, and becoming completely irrational over it? Harry walked into the room.

“Umm, Cho… what’s wrong. Harry asked. Cho looked up at him with utter shock on her face.

“ ** _Harry? What… what are ya doing here?”_** Cho asked nervously. Harry looked at the scared jinxing torso, and the broken bottles of potion on the floor, and then back at Cho.

“I was about to ask you the same question.” Harry said, as Ron and Moaning Myrtle entered the room. Cho took out her wand and erased changes made to the torso. Harry looked at it, and then turned to Cho. “What are you doing with the torso Cho?” Harry asked. He could tell that she was fishing about for an answer, but Ron who was in the door shouted first.

“Everyone, Filch is coming!” We have to hide Harry and Ron got under the invisibility cloak and Harry motioned Cho to join them with one hand that was out from underneath it. Cho slid under it, and felt of it with her hand.

“You have an invisibility cloak?” she asked with wonder. “Where did you get it?” Cho asked. Harry put a hand over her mouth with one hand and put the forefinger of his other to his lips to instruct her to be silent. Filch walked in with his oil lamp held high and Miss Norris at his side to see moaning Myrtle sitting on a desk looking back at him. Filch glanced down at the potions on the floor, and then looked back at Myrtle.

“What the bloody hell is going on here? Who did this?” He asked. Myrtle looked around at the potions.

“Hummm, must have been Peeves.” Myrtle said, conveniently blaming the poltergeist of Hogwarts who loved to cause chaos by turning over table and chairs, and the like. Filch frowned.

“I just dealt with him in another part of the castle. It couldn’t have been him.” Filch said. Moaning Myrtle looked around, well I didn’t do it. I can’t even make contact with any of it, _see”_ She finished, as she dropped through the floor, and through the potions.

“Alright, fine, whatever. Why are you not at the new bewitched room with the other ghost?” Filch asked.

“Ohhh, you mean the one on the second floor at the southwest corner of the castle? The one with the tapestry of Helga Huffelpuff on it?” Myrtle said. “Why I was just on my way down there. She said, and hovered through the wall. Filch gave one final glance around and then left with Miss Norris at his side. After a few minutes had past Harry threw off the invisibility cloak and the trio stood up. Harry looked at Cho.

“Is this where you go every night? What were you doing to that torso, what are you so angry about?” Harry asked. Cho lowered her head, not able to look at Harry.

“I… I needed to catch up with some classes. I’ve been sneaking out here to do some homework that I was behind on.” Cho said in an apologetic tone.

“Well, why don’t you do your homework with us after class?” Harry asked.

“I’m sorry, but I… it was something I had to do myself. For potions class.” Cho caught Ron glancing over the table at the book that she had lain out, and ran over and grabbed it, holding it tight in her arms, as if protecting it from the two boys. Cho was acting very suspicious. Harry started to approach her, but she stepped back, almost knocking over her broom.

“Cho… let me see that book.” Harry demanded, tired of Cho acting so weird, and not being able to know why. Tears ran down Cho’s face as she held the book titer and shook her head.

“I’m sorry Harry, but I promised my dad that…” Cho started in a whimper, but was cut off by Moaning Myrtle.

“You know people. I’m not about to wait around forever. Did you want to see what I brought you to this part of the castle for or not.” She said offended that no one had been following her. Harry nodded and he and Ron started to put the cloak back on. Harry looked back at Cho.

“Are you coming?” He asked casually. Cho looked around at the broken potions bottles, and the Jinxing Torso.

“But Harry, I have to clean up here. You go ahead, if you found something, you can tell me at the next meeting.” Cho said worried. Harry sighed with frustration at Cho’s unwillingness to open up to him.

“Fine, just forget it. See you in the great hall.” Harry finished. Cho suddenly looked even more upset.

“Harry, I’m sorry, I just have to clean all this up.” Cho said sadly. Harry and Ron threw on the invisibility cloak, and started off down the hall. They walked around a few more corners until they came upon Sir Nicolas, hugging a wall and burying his face in it, like it was a pillow. In addition the gray lady was running her hands along the wall, felling the texture of it. Moaning Myrtle floated over to the door of the room and hovered beside it.

“Well this is it Harry. This is another bewitched room that we found. But we can’t get into it. Could you open it with your wands?” Myrtle said. Harry looked at the wall in amazement, and he and Ron threw off the invisibility cloak.

“So this is the second bewitched room that we’ve been looking for these last few weeks. And now we’ve found it. Now we’ll see it’s secretes.” Harry said excited. The ghost looked at Harry with confusion.

“Um Harry, this room was bewitched in the last few days. The Gray Lady walked through this wall a few days ago to get to the Potions class. _This is a new bewitched room.”_ Sir Nicholas said.

“What! How many ghost proof rooms are there in this castle?” Harry said frustrated. Sir Nicholas raised an eyebrow.

“Well how many do you know of Harry?” He asked.

“There’s Filches office, and then there is supposed to be a third one that we told you and the Gray Lady about. Have you found that one?” Harry asked.

“We looked for it, but never found it, and we’ve practically been all over the castle looking. I don’t think that it exists.” The Gray Lady said. Harry was disappointed, about the other room not existing, but was curious to what was in this room. He walked to the door and used the unlocking charm. The lock came apart and dropped to the floor. Harry looked at Ron.

“That was simple enough.” Harry said. Harry pushed open the door, and walked inside. It was dark, and he couldn’t see. “Luminous!” Harry shouted, and the room lit up with the glow of his wand. He looked around. The ghost and Ron followed him in, and looked around as well. The room was empty. It was also small, and seemed to be a small storage closet that wasn’t in use.

“ **Nothing!”** Harry said angrily. “Just an empty room. Useless.” Harry finished. Myrtle sniffed the cold wall, and looked at Harry.

“Ohhhh poor Harry Potter can’t solve his mystery. But this is not a useless room. It’s a very good room. A room that you can feel, taste, and smell, and Filch hasn’t chased any of us away either. It’s a lovely room.” Myrtle finished proudly. Harry and Ron began to walk out of the room disappointed.

“One moment Mr. Potter. There is something here.” The Gray Lady said casually. Harry turned around to look at her. She was unsuccessfully trying to pick something off the floor. Harry reached for it, and held it up. It was a silver earring in the shape of a star.

“An earring. Ron does Draco even ware an earring?” Harry asked. Ron shook his head.

“Not that I have ever seen. It might be a girl’s. Maybe Marietta Edgencombe earring. I mean she made Filch’s office ghost proof.” Ron put in. Harry looked at the earring, put it in his pocket, and looked around one more time. But who would want to Jinx this room? I mean it doesn’t seem to contain anything.” Harry said confused. Ron looked around the room trying to find some reason for it.

“Well… perhaps it did contain something for a few days and whoever made it ghost proof took out what ever it was. I mean just a thought.” Ron said casually. Harry reflected on Cho’s behavior. It was very suspicious, and he wanted to know what she was doing really. For some reason he didn’t believe that she was doing potions homework. He and Ron left the ghost proof room and headed down toward the corridor towards the potions classroom. Harry and Ron opened the door, and walked inside the classroom. They looked around to see the Jinxing Torso put up, and the broken bottles cleaned up. Cho was nowhere to be seen and the room was frightfully cold. Ron Moved to close an open window. Harry thought for a minute. He looked at Ron.

“Ron, we never passed the North Tower on the way to the bewitched room did we?” Harry asked. Ron thought for a second.

“Err… no, I mean it’s before the North Tower area. Why?” Ron asked. Something’s wrong. We definitely ran into someone else with an invisibility cloak tonight. It sounded like a girl. Then we run into Cho acting really strange. She was going to join us, or at least go back to her House. We would have run into her either way. But we didn’t, and she’s not here.” Harry said concentrating hard. Ron looked at Harry concerned.

“What are you saying Harry?” Ron asked concerned. Harry looked up at Ron with a concerned look on his face, and gave a sigh.

“It’s just that… I was wondering if Cho’s family was rich enough to afford an invisibility cloak. I mean how else could she have gotten past us and why else she is acting so strange. She’s a pureblood, and well maybe her parents are prejudice against half bloods, and Muggleborn, and…”

“Oh come on Harry. I’m sure that Cho’s not like that. She seems to have a lot of Muggleborn friends, and… well racist don’t have them. You don’t really believe what your saying do you? I mean I’m sure that there is a reasonable explanation for it. Ask her next time you see, her. Even corner her if you have too, if she’s avoiding you. I think that she’s not plotting against you, but… she does need to explain herself.” Ron finished. Harry nodded.

“Your right, I… I’m just throwing ideas up in the air. I’ll talk to her soon. Anyway let’s get back to our house.” Harry finished.

**_Luna’s POV:_ **

“Luna woke up to quite banging on her dorm room window. She rubbed her eyes, got up, and walked over to her window, expecting an owl-love letter from Ron, as they had been sending each other cute little notes almost every night. Luna opened the window and shivered from the rush of cold Scottish air. Her eyes went wide as Cho Chang floated in on her broom, also shaking from the weather. Cho dropped to the floor, and turned to close the window. When she turned back to Luna she spoke through chattering teeth.

“Th…th…th… thanks Luna! Mmmmm…mmm... my… roo…roo…room mates lllll…locked me out this time.” Cho said.

“What do you mean Cho? What are you doing out tonight… every night? You have to tell me.” Luna said concerned. Cho looked at her with her usual sad face.

“Luna, I… I’m sp… sp…spending my nights in potions class trying to find a cure for mmm… mmm… my mum. I’ve been sneaking out of my room at night by broom, so that I’m not seen by anyone. Everyday after classes I stay after in pppp… pppp… potions class to work on the Jinxing Torso. When the teacher makes me leave I secretly unlock the corner window so that I can get in. I also leave my bedroom window open to get back in, but my roommates ccc… ccc… complain of the cold. This time they locked me out, so I was outside a long time. It’s cold!” Cho said rubbing her shoulders to warm herself up. Luna gave her a hug.

“Cho, you have to stop this! You have to trust the doctors to help your mum. You’re doing badly in school, and… Cho people are starting to get mad at you for losing so many points. Look. I know that you want to help your mum, but you really need to start studying again, or you’re going to fail school.” Luna said concerned. Cho looked to the floor.

“I shouldn’t even be here Luna. I should be with mum. I’m not… choke… I just want to make her better. I keep trying, but I always fail.” Cho cried. Luna looked Cho in the eye.

“Cho, you are the kindest hearted person I have ever known in my life. You stick up for people when it’s not the most popular thing to do, and try to take care of everyone’s problems. But there are some things that are beyond your control. You mum has good Doctors looking over her, and they will take care of her. Now you know that she would want you to pass this year don’t you?” Luna said. Cho nodded. “Then Cho you really have to get on your work, just work with the Torso once a week, and study lessons the rest. Look I’m part of a study group, and I want you to join us. We meet twice a week. Start studying with us, day after tomorrow. Promise, Okay?” Luna finished. Cho nodded.

“Luna, I’m sorry, I’m just so scared. I…” Cho started.

“I understand Cho, but you just have to study, you don’t want them to kick you out do you?” Luna asked. Tears continued to flow down Cho’s face.

“No.” Cho said in a squeaky voice. Luna patted her on the back.

“Then concentrate on your work, but for now it’s late. Get some sleep.” She smiled. Cho gave Luna a last hug, and thanked her for being there for her. She headed off to her room, and crashed down on her bed, passing out instantly.


	36. Chapter 36: Chos promise

**Chapter 36: Cho’s promise**

Cho Chang leaned against the chest level wall of the astronomy tower. A cold Scottish wind blew her long flowing hair to the side, and she rubbed her arms to warm them. She has started coming here for a couple of hours every evening after school because it was one of the loneliest locations in the castle. There were only three other students on the tower. A Huffelpuff boy and girl who were making out in a corner that blocked out the wind, and a Slytherin boy was looking through one of the many permanent telescopes on the tower and writing something down in a notebook. She had been avoiding Harry and didn’t know why. Especially when she wanted to be with him more than anything in the world. She needed to be in his arms, to be held by him, to feel safe from all her troubles, to forget for a short time about all her grief. But she couldn’t, because she couldn’t talk about what she needed to with him. She was so confused about so much. She wanted to tell Harry what she had been doing that night in the potions class, but had promised her father that she wouldn’t talk about personal family matters with anyone, and she was already telling Luna, so she had already broken the promise once. Why did her family have to be so secretive about such things? Whenever any of her friends had family problems they would let it out, and she could comfort them, and help them as best she could. But not her. Because of some silly superstition about it being bad luck to discuss it with non family members that her family held she couldn’t let it out. How little Harry must think of her now. How could she tell him about everything? She knew that he was annoyed at seeing her cry all the time, and she wished that she could be strong like her parents. But she wasn’t strong. She had always been so easily hurt by things, and let all the little things get to her. Even before Cedric’s death she had been brought to tears at the smallest things. And now she reflected at how useless she was. She lost the Quidditch cup for her house last year, accidentally brought a sneak to Harry’s DA classes, and now she couldn’t even use the Jinxing torso to help her mum.

Cho had planed to take Luna’s advice and only use it once a week, so that she could get more sleep, and concentrate on her homework. But a few days after Harry had caught her in the class Professor Pinefield had discovered that several potions had been stolen from the class, and had announced that they were going to put a house elf in the room at night to make sure that no one broke in again. Well actually the potions had not been stolen, but the contents of the bottles had spilled out on the floor when Cho had flung them off the table in frustration. She was under the impression that Professor Pinefield suspected her, as she now refused to allow her the use of the jinxing torso anymore after class, and seemed to give her suspicious looks every so often.

Now Cho spent most of her time after class in the Ravenclaw common room in a lonely corner. She was withdrawing from her friends, and she didn’t even know why herself. She just knew that her heart hurt terribly, and that she wanted to not exist, to not hurt anymore.

Early last night she had flown on her broom outside the window of the potions lab, to see if it was true about the house elf. It was, Cho saw her sitting at one of the desk sipping on something in a goblet, and she knew that she could never again use that room to find her mother a cure. She would have to think of something else. Cho raised her head and watched the Slytheren boy and two Hufflepuffs leave the tower. She looked at her bewitched watch. Six thirty. Only three and a half hours before curfew. The sun was starting to go down. She decided that she could wait another fifteen minutes, and then go to do her homework. She looked across the dark forest wondering if she should again break her promise to her father and tell Harry about her mum, and why she was in the potions class that night. Cho put her hand to her chest and felt the love-protection charm given to her by her father. She remembered her duty to her family, the promise that she had made. No, she couldn’t tell Harry, it wasn’t about what she wanted. Cho would honor her promise to her family, and not say anything to anyone but Luna. She wouldn’t even tell her except that she felt she had to tell someone or she would go insane.

Cho reached in her pocket and took out the letters that she had received that morning. The one from Ling, and Sally explaining about how they had almost gotten trampled at a football game when a riot broke out between their fellow Hammers fans, and some Liverpool supporters. People were throwing rocks, and Molotov cocktails, (Bottles filled with petrol with a rag hanging out to light, that would explode when thrown.) at each other, and the police had to come in with fire hoses and tear gas to get everything under control. But that it was all ok in the end because Westham beat Liverpool three-nill. Cho shook her head knowing that she would never understand the fanaticism of football fans. As usual the parchment was signed the notorious Sally and Ling. Cho then reached in her pocket for the second letter. She pulled it out and read it over again. It was from her father, and it said that her mother had only gotten worse. More Chemo, more radiation therapy, and more experimental drug test. Cho was seriously thinking about leaving Hogwarts soon. It didn’t seem to matter if she could do magic anymore. She needed to be close to her mum. She could live amongst muggles if she had too. Her uncle’s family were muggles, and many of her friends were muggleborne. It would be worth giving up everything to be with her mum. She was certainly not doing her any good here, and she wasn’t really any good at anything anyway. “Maybe I don’t belong here anyway,” she thought. She felt her Ravenclaw crest with her hand and remembered what a terrible mistake the sorting hat had made. “Those of wit and learning… not me.” She said out loud to herself.

“Really Miss Chang? Well I happen to know that Professor Flitwick has another opinion on that.” Said a deep voice behind her. Cho spun around surprised to come face to face with someone she never expected to see again.

“Hhh… Head Master! I, didn’t know you were up here sir.” Cho stammered. Albus Dumbledore looked around the tower and walked up beside Cho gazing over to the dark forest, the howling wind blowing cold in his face. He looked down at her.

“Well I always like a nice cool breeze. It was a trifle hot in my office, so I came up here to cool off.” He smiled. Dumbledore looked at Cho with an unreadable expression. “Interestingly enough I was actually going to speak with you soon, so it’s very convenient that you’re here.” Dumbledore said casually. Cho raised an eyebrow.

“You… you were going to see me?” She asked concerned.

“Yes, it seems that professor Flitwick has been very concerned about you, as have your other Professors. It seems that you’ve been sleeping in class a lot, and that your grades are again doing very poorly. You know a head master tries to get to know as many of his students as he can, but I regret to say that we’ve only had the privilege of meeting once before, and that was under very unsatisfactory circumstances if you’ll remember,” Dumbledore finished. Cho lowered her eyes remembering the incident from her third year that got her sent to the Head Masters office. She looked up at him with a frown.

“I remember head Master; I’m sorry about what happened. I… I’ll study harder… and I…” Cho stammered.

“Miss Chang. I like to let the students know that they can come to me if any of them have a problem. I would like to know what is troubling you, because you seemed to be catching up for a while, and then began to regress again in the last few weeks. What is wrong?” He asked concerned.

“Nothing, I just… I’ll try harder, really!” Cho said shakily.

“Are you sure that there is nothing that you want to talk about Miss Chang? Nothing at all?” Dumbledore asked. Cho nodded her head, but she did want to tell him. She wanted to tell anyone who would listen and it was killing her to keep it inside, but it wasn’t her choice. She had to keep it bottled in. Cho was feeling boxed in and started to edge past the head master over to the entrance, but not losing eye-contact. Dumbledore looked at her firmly.

“Well Miss Chang. I’m afraid that you’re going to have to improve soon or we cannot graduate you. Now I know you don’t want that do you?” Cho bit her lip to keep from tearing up. She looked at Dumbledore with a grim face.

“I want to go home.” Cho said sadly, as her eyes fell on something small rising over the dark forest, and she heard a chopping sound coming from far away that she could just hear over the wind. Dumbledore shook his head.

“I hope you don’t mean that Miss Chang. There is still time to bring your work up too speed, but you have to put all your effort into it. You have to forget about everything that’s going on outside, and work on your studies. Now I need to ask, is there anyone that you confide your problems too? Anyone that you can talk to, to help you through things?” Dumbledore asked a distracted Cho. The object over the forest was getting closer and the chopping sound louder, and more familiar. Cho could almost make out a shape, a large body with a rotating device. It was a few hundred feet up and approaching slowly, almost in slow motion. Cho looked back at Dumbledore.

“I… tell all my problems to my friend Luna, Head Master.” She said in a thick Scottish accent, and turned to look over his shoulder at the approaching object. Red lights flickered from the tail of the object, a strobe light flashed on and off from the top, and the sounds of the rotors were now more audible. Dumbledore put a hand on her shoulder, and looked at her very seriously.

“Well Miss Chang, if you don’t want to talk to me, about what’s bothering you, I’ll just have to accept it, but I ask because I wonder if it is related to your late night, clandestine visits to the potions class these past few weeknights.” Dumbledore said as he watched Cho Chang’s almond shape eyes widen to full circles. Her mouth dropped open, and she unconsciously stepped back a few paces.

“What… what do you mean Head Master?” She asked, her face turning pale. Dumbledore looked at her casually.

“Now Miss Chang. There is no use denying it. Funny thing about these walls here at Hogwarts, they carry a lot of memory, and the most recent ones are the freshest memories of all. Sometimes those memories can be recreated in a room, by the masters to see if a student has been involved in some _unauthorized activity._ I think that you, your head of house and I need to have a chat in the potions ro… Miss Chang what are you staring at?” Dumbledore interrupted himself seeing Cho quite distracted. Cho lifted up her finger past his shoulder as a loud chopping sound filled the air.

“The helicopter!” Cho said. Dumbledore swung around to see a muggle helicopter flying over the castle toward them. It made a high speed pass over the tower and Cho and Dumbledore watched it pitch up, climb, turn left and hover for a moment. The helicopter had a sleek design and the main and tail rotors spun at incredible speeds. The helicopter was white with brown vertical stripes that ran the length of the fuel-silage, and Cho could make out a black tear drop symbol painted on the side. The aircraft circled the castle a few times and then hovered nest to the astronomy tower only a few meters away from Cho and Dumbledore. Cho could see a search light under the nose of the aircraft, and a megaphone under the bottom, between the skids that it used for landing gear. The chopper turned to face Cho and Dumbledore and she could see two people inside. One man, who was younger, was in a grey flight suit, wearing aviator glasses and some sort of head piece device with earphones, and a microphone, and the other, a much older man with a pointy goatee, wearing wizarding clothes, including reddish velvet robes, and also wearing the strange headpiece that covered his ears like earmuffs, and had a protruding microphone that he seemed to be speaking into. The man wearing the robes was smiling and appeared to be waving at them. Cho wasn’t feeling like smiling, and the loud chopping of the rotor blades were deafening, but she managed to wave back. She looked back at Dumbledore, who wasn’t waving at all. In fact the headmaster had a look of deep hatred on his face and his hands were balled up into fist. Cho had never seen the head master so angry before. She had never seen anyone so angry before. The helicopter rose up suddenly turned on its axis, pitched its nose down and flew off toward Hogsmead. Dumbledore turned back to Cho.

“Miss Chang. I have to go now. We will continue this discussion another time. He turned and rushed off toward the stairs of the astronomy tower and disappeared. Cho backed against the wall and slid down. How could the Head Master know that she was the one who was sneaking into the lab at night? She was in real trouble she thought. She looked up again at the open sky.

“Why had the head master been so angry about the muggle helicopter?” She knew that most muggles couldn’t see Hogwarts, but she was sure that this aircraft had a wizarding person in it. She shook it off. It doesn’t matter, she had bigger problems. She might be expelled. Was it better to confess that it was her and not explain what she was doing, or was it better to keep denying that she was the one who spilled the potions? That must be the reason that she was found out. But _how_ did they know it was her? Maybe she should just leave school now before she got expelled, and brought shame to her family. She wanted to be with her mother anyway. Should she pack her bags tonight? No, just go do your homework she thought. Whatever happens, you have no control over it. Just do what you should have been doing all along, and try to study.

**The next day (Dinner):**

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table, and held up the earring and stared intently at it. Its wearer had definitely bewitched the room by the North Tower. It was a very distinctive piece Harry thought. It was in the shape of a star, and had a small British roundel in the center, like the ones on the wings of Spitfires from WW2. Harry wondered if Cho was the one who left it in the room. She was behaving strangely, and avoiding him lately. He had caught her doing something, but he didn’t know what. Was it Cho that was wearing the invisibility cloak that night? Was she somehow still involved with Marietta Edgencombe? He didn’t know, but the thought depressed him. Harry didn’t want to believe that Cho was going against him, but she was behaving so strangely that he had to consider it. She was doing something with the Jinxing Torso when he found her, and she had a book that she wouldn’t let him see. Harry closed his eyes, and thought. “What are you up to Cho, and why can’t we talk about it?” Harry asked himself. He looked over at the Ravenclaw table to see her eating some sirloin steak, with the same sad look on her face that she had since Cedric had died. “Why are you still grieving over him Cho? You have to get over his death. How can you still be so traumatized by it?

“Harry, I need you to come with me for a minute.” A soft voice from behind him stated. Harry turned around in his seat to see a cute girl in a Slytheren uniform smiling at him. Harry smiled at her.

“Hello Fiona, what’s up?” Harry asked. Fiona grabbed his arm and gently, but firmly guided him away from the Gryffindor table, and over to a corner of the room where about eight people from all four houses were gathered.

“Harry I want you to meet my friends, these are the most popular students in Hogwarts, aside from you that is, and their parents have a lot of pull in the wizarding world,” Fiona said proudly. She introduced Harry to all of them, and stated what their parents did, and how much money that their parents made, and what luxury items that they possessed. Also she went through who their ancestors were, and described famous ancestors in history. Harry was surprised to find that now all were purebloods, and that Fiona, although she was in Slytheren didn’t have a problem with that. Fiona also told Harry of her family and how she lived in a large estate in Cambridge. She bragged about her wealth for sometime, between chats that Harry had with her friends. Harry did notice that Cho was not among the group. Odd he thought that if these were the most popular group, than why wasn’t she here. Cho did seem to have a lot of friends, he remembered from his previous years. After the chat Fiona lead Harry out of the great Hall to a quite corner of the castle. Harry was glad to be away from the others, because something about most of them rubbed him the wrong way. They seemed to be a really snobbish group, talking of how many hundreds of thousands of pounds, or galleons that their family’s made per week. Everything seemed to be about how liked they were, and how everyone wanted to hang out with them. Fiona stopped in a dark corned and turned Harry to face her. She smiled, and kissed him, obviously over her shyness around him.

“They’re all very happy that were going out together Potter, naturally though, my friends are not surprised. I mean you being who you are, and I being who I am. I’m sooo happy to be going out with _The Boy Who Lived!_ It only makes since. I mean I’m really amazed that we didn’t come together sooner. But naturally you can understand that last year we couldn’t be, but that’s all in the past... Harry had to stop her in mid-sentence.

“Whoa, wait. Why couldn’t we get together last year Fiona?” Harry asked. She smiled at him.

“Oh Harry, last year everyone thought that you were insane. You know that I couldn’t have gone with you then. I was afraid that you were going to hurt someone. Well that’s what the papers said.” Fiona said in a casual voice. Harry was a bit offended that she thought that last year, but most people did he supposed.

“And now?” Harry asked. Fiona gave him a passionate kiss that made him dizzy.

“Now you’re _The Boy Who Lived_ again. Now I’m your loyal fan.” She said as she pulled her lips away from his. Harry looked at her seriously.

“And how loyal are you?” Harry asked. Fiona smiled even wider.

“To the end Potter. I’ll always believe in you. And I can help you to become even more popular. Those people I introduced you to are going to be the most influential people in the wizarding and muggle world one day. There a better class of people, just like us. Not just because their rich, but because their popular. Oh! That reminds me, I have something for you Harry!” Fiona said digging in her pocket, and pulling out a heart shaped locket with a gold necklace. She opened the locket to reveal a picture of herself in the right hand side, and a picture of Harry on the left. “Now you see, just like the one that I’m wearing so that well both know how lucky we are to be together. We also need to start sitting together at every meal possible. It’s important that were seen together.” Fiona boasted.

“Why is that so important?” Harry asked. Fiona laughed happily.

“Because silly, it will do wonders for our popularity. Were two of the most popular students in school, and together were even going to be even more popular. That’s the most important thing in this school you know, popularity.” She said with determination. Harry looked at her, not exactly believing himself. She seemed a little shallow.

“Why is that important?” Harry asked. Fiona smiled.

“Let me ask you this Potter, how did you feel last year when almost no one would speak to you?” Fiona asked. Harry sighed.

“Miserable!” Harry said flatly, remembering just how unpopular he was.

“Well there you go!” Fiona said.

“Um, is Cho Chang in your group?” Harry asked suddenly. Fiona laughed hysterically. “What’s so funny?” Harry asked not getting the humor. Fiona looked up at him giggling.

“Oh Harry of coarse not why would she be?” Fiona asked.

“Well she is one of the most popular people in school, and she does have a lot of friends.” Harry said.

“Well that’s just why Potter. I mean Cho Chang will hang out with anyone. My group prefers a more select people. The right kind of people. I mean we can’t be seen hanging out with _just anyone_ can we?” she finished. Harry started to grow a little hostile.

“Look if your one of those bloody Purebloods who look down on people who are not of completely pure magical linage…” Harry began to shout as he pointed an accusing finger at Fiona, who was taken aback.

“No, no Harry! I’m a half blood myself. Look I meant something else. Look I didn’t mean to upset you, it’s just that, well I’m very select in my friends, and I don’t want to be friends with everyone. There are certain people who don’t quite fit in, and well, I don’t like to be around them. But it’s not about the pureblood thing. I mean how could it be? You and I are both half bloods, and some of my friends are Muggleborn. I’m talking about popularity Potter. I’m talking about not hanging out with people who would make you uncool in the eyes of others. For instance, look at Draco Malfoy. I don’t hang around him or his friends because their fathers are Death Eaters, and no one likes them for it. That was good advice that you gave me to stay away from them.” Fiona stated finishing her long rant about the importance of popularity. Harry was a bit turned off by the idea that Fiona wouldn’t hang out with someone because they were unpopular, but she was so cute that he decided that he would thy to change her mind about it later. She was right about one thing though, he did want to continue to be popular, especially after last year, and mostly because of it. Fiona recognized the upset look on Harry’s face, and kissed him again. “Ahhh, look Potter, I didn’t mean to upset you, lets talk about something else. Or better yet, let’s find someplace more private and do more than talk. Harry became aroused at the suggestion, but had already made prior commitments.

“Wow, umm that’s tempting, but I already promised my friend Hermione that I would help her with making decorations for the Yule Ball. She’s having trouble with her boyfriend, Ron Weasley, and wants to talk about me helping get them back to gather. Well actually, _back together._ ” Harry finished. Fiona looked surprisingly happy.

“That’s wonderful Potter!” she said excited.

“It is?” Harry said confused.

“Of course, you need them as your friends; they are famous from the Battle at the Ministry last year. Very Popular people. Not as popular as you, but definitely the right kind of people. Everybody knows them.” Fiona finished.

“Well I guess, but that’s not the reason that we’re friends. We’ve been friends since our first year. I don’t hang out with them because they are popular or not.” Harry said.

“Of coarse not, that just shows that you have a natural talent for picking the right kind of friends.” She smiled. “Look, it’s good that your spending time with them, maybe when we go to Hogsmead they can meet my friends, and we can all get together. I’d love to meet them. It will look good for us all to be seen together. It will just confirm our social standing.” Fiona said happily.

“I guess.” Harry said without much excitement.

“Well look Potter, if your going to do that I’m going to see a couple of friends about plans for a party. Oh! Some fellow Slythern’s are having a party in one of the dungeons on next Friday night, keep that night open for me. Sneak out of your dorm at around eleven that night, and meet by the statue of the Mina tar in the third level dungeon. Were all meeting there? And tell your friends Weasley and Granger to come as well.” She said, and kissed Harry goodbye. Harry looked at his watch and turned to head back toward the direction of the Gryffindor tower, where plans for the Yule ball were being held in an unused classroom. He wasn’t officially on the committee to decorate, but wasn’t spending enough time with Hermione lately. He was curious to know how Ron and Hermione were dealing with each other in the meetings, as both of them and Luna Lovegood were all helping out. It was going to be an interesting two hours he thought to himself.


	37. Chapter 37: The Yule Ball Committie

 

Chapter 37: **The Yule Ball Committee**

 

Harry stepped through the door of the classroom where the Yule Ball committee was working, and noticed instantly that there was a vastly disproportionate ratio of girls to boys in the room. As he scanned the room from one side to the other, he noticed that the only boys in attendance were Ron, Neville Longbottom, and himself. Neville was sitting next to that Slytherin girl, Gloria Kingston, whom they had met on the train coming to Hogwarts. He guessed that Neville had finally found a girl for himself. "Good for him," Harry thought. Harry then scanned the part of the room where Ron and Luna were in deep conversation. They were both smiling and giggling. Luna gave Ron a quick kiss, and the conversation continued. Finally in another part of the room Harry saw Hermione talking to Parvati Patil; both were cutting out stars from metallic, colored paper. Hermione looked up and saw Harry. She smiled and waved him over to her. Harry walked over and sat down opposite the two girls.

"Hey, Harry, what's the news?" Hermione asked happily.

"Well I think that I'm taking Fiona Shaw to Hogsmeade for our first weekend. She said that she is going to set up some sort of party here beforehand though, and she wants you and Ron to come," Harry said. Hermione looked excited.

"Really? I'm invited? That's so nice of you to get her to do that. I've never even met her. Must be a nice girl," Hermione said.

Harry shrugged.  "I suppose.  I didn't get her to invite you; she wanted you to come because you're famous from the battle at the Ministry. But I'm glad that she did invite you and Ron because I would have had her do it anyway."

Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment, and a quill.  "Well, where's the party?" she asked.

"Don't know. It's a secret because it's after curfew," Harry stated.

"Can my sister and I come too, Potter?" Parvati put in.

Harry scratched his head.  "Well I don't know. I kind of got the vibe that it was by invitation only, but I'll certainly ask," he said casually and looked at Hermione.  "So do you want me to talk to Ron for you? I don't think that it will do any good, but I'll give it a try," Harry said.

"Yes, Harry I need him to change his mind before the Yule Ball, so that we can go together. I miss him, but don't tell him _that._ Just tell him that we were meant to be with each other. Tell Ron that he needs to dump that... that girl Luna, and be with me. I'm much more intelligent than her, and I'm not at all... well... odd," Hermione said.

"Look, Luna's a nice girl, and I thought that the two of you made up already... I mean you and Luna," Harry said.

"We have, but she is still weird. Everyone thinks so. She's not the kind of girl that Ron needs to be romantically involved with. Look, Harry, just please talk to Ron again," Hermione pleaded.

"I will, but I don't understand why you don't talk to him yourself," Harry replied.

Hermione put her head down and closed her eyes.  "I've tried, Harry, but it's no use. All we do is end up fighting about it, and then we don't talk for days or even weeks. It's not the way I want it to be, but he makes me so mad. Every year we've been hiding our feelings about each other, even though we loved each other. I know what my feelings for him are now and I don't want to hide them any more. I need to spend more time with him, but he's always with Luna." She said this in almost a sob.

Harry pulled out his wand, waved it around, and began to Levitate a pair of scissors to cut some of the metallic paper into the shape of several stars. Hermione and Parvati began to use their wands to make a banner with the four crests of the Hogwarts houses on either side of the school crest. After they had been working a while, Hermione became thirsty and asked Harry to get her a drink from the water cooler that someone had conjured at the other end of the classroom. Harry walked over to it, grabbed one of the Styrofoam cups, filled it with cool water, and began to drink. He than poured a cup for Hermione and walked back over toward the table where Hermione sat.

"Hey Harry, come here for a minute," Ron shouted. Harry stopped briefly to talk with Ron and Luna about the ball and then returned to sit with Hermione, and Parvati. When he arrived back at the table, he found that they had been joined by two Ravenclaw girls. One was Parvati's sister Padma. Harry had not seen the other girl before and was surprised when she gave him a distinctly dirty look. Padma introduced her as Beverly Jones, a Welsh girl from Cardiff. Harry sat down beside Padma so that she would be between the other Ravenclaw girl and himself. Everyone started talking about some of the designs at the Yule ball and how the ball should begin. Harry noticed that Padma's friend was giving him the minimum courtesy when she spoke to him. He wondered what her problem was.

Suddenly Ron came up to the table and sat down with everyone. "Hey, Hermione, Harry, what did I miss?" he asked. Harry noticed that Luna was not with him.

"Where is Luna?" Harry whispered.  "I thought that she was the reason that you were on this committee."

"She had to go to the lavatory. She'll be back soon." Ron said casually. Padma introduced her friend to Ron, and they all began to discuss decorations for the Yule ball. It was a subject that didn't really interest Harry, but he was there for Hermione.

Finally Ron brought up the question of who everyone was taking to the ball.

"Err... well, like I told Hermione, I think that I'm going with Fiona Shaw," Harry said.

"And who are you going with, Ron?" Hermione asked. Ron looked around to make sure that Luna was still in the lavatory and then turned back to face Hermione.

"Well, actually, I was going to ask you," he said in a friendly tone.

To everyone's surprise, Hermione got offended. "How could you ask me that now when you came here to be with Luna Lovegood?"

Ron looked unsure of what to say.  "Well... I um, I'm not going to the ball to be with Luna. I want to be with you at the ball. Look, don't be difficult. You know I love you, and I'm not going to explain why I'm going out with other people again. What is your problem? Why do you have to act like this every time I try to be nice to you!" Ron said, his face turning red to match his hair.

"Don't you get heated with me, Ron Weasley! You haven't spent any time with me this year at all," Hermione retorted.

Harry looked around; this row was starting to attract a lot of attention in the classroom.

" **And whose fault is that?"** Ron shouted pointing an accusing finger at Hermione."Look every time I try to spend time with you, you tell me to get lost unless I'm ready to commit. Well I'm not ready to, but I still want to go to the ball with you.  Now what's your answer?"

Hermione, enraged, slammed her fist down loudly on the desk and stuck her middle finger in the air right in front of Ron.  "Here's my answer, you stupid git."

Everyone in the room had jumped at the slam, even though they were all fully engrossed in what was going on. Ron stood up, still looking at Hermione, with an expression of hurt. Harry thought for a second that Ron was going to be the one to tear up. Ron lowered his head for a second. When he raised it, he seemed more composed.

"Fine. Who needs _you_ anyway? I don't want to spend any time with you. I don't want to see you again anymore. I wish that stupid Hat had put you in another house so I wouldn't have to see you again," Ron said coldly. He turned and walked toward the door, leaving Hermione with an expression on her face that made it look like someone had just stabbed her in the heart. Harry was speechless. He looked back to see Luna walk in the door, just as Ron walked up to it. Ron grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Come on." Ron said angrily.

"But what about the decorations, I..." Luna started.

"I said, come on. We're leaving. We need to spend more time together to talk about going to the Yule ball together," Ron said loudly as he rushed her out the door. The room was suddenly quiet as everyone looked at Hermione.

Finally Harry could take the silence no more.  "Sooo, um... Parvati, who are you taking to the ball?"

"Wel,l I haven't got a date yet, but I've been going with Ernie Macmillan these past few months. We're getting pretty serious, so I hope he will ask me. Actually, I'm sure that he will," she finished.

"Great. Macmillan is a really good guy. I'm glad to hear that you two are hooking up together," Harry said.

Hermione desperate to avoid any attention focused on herself turned to Padma's friend.  "So, who are you taking... Miss Jones, is it?" Hermione asked.

Beverly Jones nodded and smiled as she looked up from a star that she was cutting out.  "My date to the ball is going to be Gloria Kingston." She said casually.

Harry snickered unintentionally.  "That's funny, Jones." Harry laughed.

Beverly gave him a defensive look.  "Why is that funny, Potter?" she asked.

Harry was thrown by the question.  "Well... um, you can't go to the ball with Gloria Kingston.  I mean, _she's a girl."_ Harry said.

"So?" Beverly asked casually.

Harry was at a loss for words, the situation seemed a little bizarre.  "Well, I mean... you're a girl. And if you went out with her, than that would make you a... a..." Harry couldn't finish, as he was starting to feel strangely uncomfortable.

"A lesbian?" Jones asked, finishing his sentence. "Yes, does that offend you Potter?" She asked coldly.

Harry was feeling very uncomfortable.  ,"Err... um, no... I mean, hey you know, to each their own, I just... um... nothing. I'm cool with it," Harry stammered. "So who are you going with Padma?"

Padma said that she was going with Allen Miller, the Slytherin, who had become Head Boy.

"What? Padma, how could you consort with the enemy? You know all those Slytherins are a bunch of potential Death Eaters," Harry said louder and in a more hostile tone than he had intended. He was thinking about Malfoy and how he was probably going to use his prefect position against Harry, and although Harry had never met Miller, he remembered his fight with the Slytherin last year in Umbridge's office.

Padma gave him an angry look. "Just what do you mean 'consorting with the enemy', Potter? Allen Miller is a very nice boy and happens to be very intelligent as well. What?  Have you two had a row or something?" she asked.

Harry was sorry that he had been so quick to speak out against someone he had never met, but as a rule he considered anyone in Slytherin his personal enemy. Well, why not?  He had never met a Slytherin he liked.  "Well no, I've never actually met him, but if he's in Slytherin than he can't be a good person, can he?"

Padma was offended and looked it.  "Listen, Potter, for your information we've been seeing each other seriously since this summer. Allen and I have been neighbors and friends since we were children, and I love him. You sound like Marietta Edgecombe, judging a whole group of people with one broad stroke. You haven't even met him."

 Harry felt bad about prejudging Miller. He was about to apologize to her, but she stormed out of the room angrily almost knocking over Pansy Parkinson, who was walking in with some refreshments for the people at her table. Parvati rushed past Harry to go talk to her sister.

"Parvati, look I'm sorry, I just... I didn't mean it. Let me talk to her," Harry started sincerely.

"Forget it, Potter, I'll talk to her.  Just watch what you say about people that you don't even know. She's right; you're acting just like Marietta," Parvati finished as she strode off.

"Harry turned to Beverly Jones, the only Ravenclaw left at his table.

"What did they mean: I'm acting just like Marietta Edgecombe? I'm not a sneak! How else does she act?" Harry asked.

Beverly gave him another harsh look.  "Just like you do, Potter. She judges everyone on where they're from and what groups they belong too. She treats people who belong to certain groups badly. Doesn't look at them as individuals or try to get to know them personally, just makes up her mind that everyone in a certain group of people are bad." Beverly said as she rose and started to walk out of the room. At the door, she turned to Harry. "Oh, but the one good thing that I can say for Marietta Edgecombe is that she never dumped a guy fifteen minutes into a planned date and rushed off to be with someone else. Other than that, I'm sure that you two have a lot in common." Beverly said accusingly and walked out the door.

Harry turned to Hermione.  "Well, this has been fun," he said sarcastically. Harry then focused in on Hermione, who had covered her eyes with her hands and was sobbing into them.  But it didn't make him feel sorry for her; if anything, it made him angry.  "Hermione, why did you treat Ron like that? You had what you wanted; he was going to ask you out to the Yule Ball. He _did_ ask you out. All you had to do was say yes. You could have argued over whether you wanted him to commit or not later, after the ball. You have to stop being so pushy. You're backing him into a corner. Look, I don't understand why you girls get so emotional about these things."

Hermione looked up at Harry with bloodshot teary eyes.  "Don't lecture me _now,_ Harry, I've just lost the boy I was going to marry," she cried as she stood up.

Harry put up a hand to stop her from leaving. He noticed everyone in the room was looking at them again.  "Look, I'll talk to Ron; I'll tell him that you're just having women's problems or something, he'll..."

"Oh, god, Harry!" Hermione said with a disgusted look on her face, and she ran out the door.

"What? What did I say wrong?" Harry yelled as he started to follow her. Suddenly he felt several dozen eyes boring into his back. He turned around to see everyone in the classroom staring at him, some with shocked expressions and some with angry looks. Apparently all the drama at his table had been so loud and chaotic that everyone else had stopped what they were doing to watch it all unfold. One blond haired, Ravenclaw girl approached him, looking very pissed-off.

"I hope you're happy, Harry Potter! Since you've come in here, we've lost six people that were supposed to help us with the banners and decorations today. You're not even a part of the committee, so why don't you get the fuck out, and go stir up your shit somewhere else!"

"Who the hell are you?" Harry asked, a bit pissed off himself at being blamed for the drama of others.

"I'm Nancy Cromwell. I'm the president of the Yule Ball committee, and I don't think that you should come here any more if all you're going to do is cause trouble," she said with finality in her voice.

" **Fine! I didn't want to be a part of the stupid Yule Ball committee anyway! I only came to be with my friend, Hermione, so now I've got no reason to stay."** Harry shouted, angry at being blamed for events that were beyond his control, and he left the room in a huff.

~*~

The four girls sat at the library table discussing the events that took place at the Yule Ball meeting earlier. Marietta Edgecombe, Lori Sanchez, and Danielle Forester all listened intently as Pansy Parkinson recounted the events from a few hours ago.

"...and that's exactly how it happened, Marietta, Potter just came in and pissed off a lot of people, including Padma Patel, Nancy Cromwell, and Beverly Jones of your house. I mean everyone saw the whole thing," Pansy Parkinson said. "A lot of people were really mad, because, even though we have time to prepare... like... six people he was sitting with just left, soon after he came in the room."

Danielle Forester smiled as she sat back in her chair.  "Well, Marietta, if this keeps up, we won't have to make him look bad; he'll do it all by himself."

Marietta remained silent for a moment. She lowered her head in deep concentration. When she brought her head up again, she had an unreadable expression, as she turned to Pansy Parkinson.

"How pissed off was Harry at Padma Patel?" she asked in a very serious tone.

Pansy thought about it for a moment.  "Well pretty mad, I think.  I wasn't exactly sure what it was about... something to do with her going out with Allen Miller, and Potter not liking Slytherins. Anyway, he got her and her sister very upset. Also Beverly Jones and Nancy Cromwell were pretty miffed at him as well..."

Pansy started to continue but was cut off by Marietta.  "I don't care if a bunch of filthy, half-blood slime or Mudblood filth were upset. I was asking about Padma. She's one of us," Marietta said coldly.

Pansy raised an eyebrow.  "You mean that she's a society member?" She asked, a bit confused.

"No, I mean that she's a pureblood, and Potter may have started an argument with her because of that fact. We have to keep a record of every time that he harasses one of our own, whether they are society members or not. Another thing is that we cannot count on him messing things up on his own." She looked over to Lori.  "Lori, I need you to go to go to your common room and tell Seamus Finnigan that I need to see him tomorrow night in our usual place. Please go now." she said this with a hint of urgency. As Lori turned to leave, Marietta turned to Pansy Parkinson. "Pansy, tell Miller what Potter said about him.  If you can't remember everything, make something up. I'm sure everyone in your house knows how Potter feels about them, but impress it upon their minds once more. Spread a few rumors about Potter threatening Miller if you need to. Best to go now."  She waited for Pansy to exit the room and turned to Danielle.

"Cho hasn't come asking forgiveness yet. I think it's time we started working over her friends, and, first and foremost, we need to get that queer, Beverly Jones, out of the way. I've got to be off for now to see my dear uncle. We need to speed up our plan. I want Cho on our side and Potter expelled as soon as possible. He is really insane you know, and I think that he's going to hurt or even kill a student before Christmas," Marietta said coldly.

Danielle's eyes widened.  "Oh, Marietta, surely you don't believe that, that he's capable of doing that! I mean I know he's the enemy, and all, but surely..." Danielle started, but was cut off by Marietta.

"Remember the newspaper reports from last year? Well, they were right the first time. You know how powerful he is. Harry Potter might have put the Imperius Curse on the owners, and editors of the Prophet. No one knows what he's capable of, Danielle. Remember, he's impure. His mother had no magical lineage. But... don't concern yourself with Potter for now, leave that to me. I'm going to talk to my uncle tomorrow morning. He's going to make it easier to take care of Cho's friends, but the rest is going to be up to you and Pansy. I need to keep attention away from myself for a while. She must use her prefect position to cause Cho's friends as much grief as possible. Give her a hand messing with people like Cromwell and any other friends she has in Ravenclaw. Do you understand?" Danielle nodded eagerly. "Good. Then let's go; we have so much to do." Marietta smiled.

  _So, Potter and a pureblood finally had a row._ Marietta thought as she walked back to the North Tower. _This is the break I've been waiting for_.  Things were about to advance more rapidly. How convenient that the argument would be with a pureblood from her own house. _Poor Padma, your sacrifice will not go unforgotten. Maybe one day someone will make a statue of you, and put it in the school._  Marietta smiled.

 


	38. Chapter 38: Running Interference

  


**Chapter 38: Running Interference**

Marietta stood with her back against the wall in Filches office taking another drag off her fag (it’s what the British call cigarettes, I swear!), as Semis Finnegan’s pretender walked into the room. Marietta turned her head to him.

“Your late.” She said annoyed. Semis gave her a cold look in return.

“Well it’s not easy trying to avoid the ghost, and that poltergeist without an invisibility cloak. I have to scamper from cover to cover, keeping in the shadows.” Seamus said. Marietta looked at him seriously.

“We have to take Potter out of action once again, and you have to take his place.” Marietta said casually, about to take another drag off her fag. Seamus snatched it from her and brought it to his lips, and a moment later exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“So what do you want me to do this time, start a fight with the Slytheren Quidditch team? Or perhaps smack the school choir around.” Seamus said humorously. Marietta frowned.

“Your targets will be more specific. There is a girl in my house named Padma Patel. She is going with Allen Miller, the school head boy. Make sure that Potter threatens them for being pureblood, and even scares them a little. Confront them in private, and tell them that if they go to anyone about what you said that you will deny that the conversation took place, but don’t do anything over the top. No over dramatics. I’ll have Pansy Parkinson deliver another note from Uncle Filch, for Potter to go to his office, from the middle of one of Potters classes.” Marietta said.

“That’s not a good idea Marietta! If we do that again the head master may find out and be suspicious of my involvement. I cannot risk it, and I cannot risk allowing other students to hurt each other, like you mentioned doing with that Chang girl’s friends.” Filch said nervous. Marry gave a slight chuckle.

“Not to worry Uncle, we’ll pull Potter out of Snape’s class again. It’s well known that the two don’t like each other. I’m sure that Snape will not question an opportunity to get Potter out of his hair for an hour. Besides, we can use the excuse that Cho’s friends and Potter are going to get their anti-flu charms from Madam Pomfrey. Everyone has started getting them anyway. Seamus, it will mean skipping classes for a day, but you can impersonate Madam Pomfrey in dealing with Potter, and Cho’s friends.” Marietta said satisfied.

“And what of his friends? Surely if we keep doing this then they are going to notice that Potter has his bad attitude every time that he gets a note from me.” Filch complained.

“Don’t be absurd. Potter first acted crazy on the train coming here, and I didn’t even have anything to do with that, then on the Quidditch Pitch, well after he left your office. Yesterday he pissed off several members of the Yule Ball Committee, and again I had nothing to do with that. But we need to move more quickly now. Were running out of time. I’m sure that we all saw the helicopter yesterday, or have heard about it by now. That means that Professor Ian Watson is already in Hogsmead getting everything set up for the first weekend. I’m sure that he’ll want a progress report soon. Uncle Filch, you need to go to see him this weekend, and tell him that things are going according to plan. It’s not yet time to take care of Potter, but it will be soon enough.” Marietta continued.

“But what about the Jones girl? I cannot condone that action. I…” Filch started, but was cut off quickly by Marietta.

“What the hell is wrong with you Uncle? Didn’t _you_ always used to tell me about how you used to torcher students who got out of line? Didn’t you petition the Ministry of Magic to bring back torcher? Well if you play your part right you’ll get to torcher students all the time, but you have to be committed to this. Now all you have to do is write a note to get Potter out of class, and into this office, and get Jones into the hospital room. I don’t think that after this I’ll be doing it this way again, as there is too much of a danger of Potter being able to get out of it, but this one time we need him here.” Marietta finished, and gently took her fag back from Seamus and inhaled deeply, savoring the nicotine in her system, and finally letting out the poison in a puff. “Now, there is also the issue of Beverly Jones and the rest of Cho’s friends to deal with. My love. We can take care of Jones tomorrow when you impersonate Madam Pomfrey, and then I’ll then have plenty of time to deal with Potter before someone finds her.” Marietta said, in deep concentration for her plan.

“ _Find her how?”_ Seamus asked curious. Marietta smiled.

“Find her in much worse condition than when she entered the room.” She finished. Marietta now turned to Filch. Now Uncle, I got an urgent message from Professor Watson yesterday, and I need to discuss it with Seamus right now, why don’t you run along now?” Marietta said mockingly.

“This is my office, why don’t you two go run along and find another place to shag!” Filch said very angry that his niece did not give him any respect. Marietta had an offended look on her face.

“Were not going to shag, and if we were I wouldn’t have to make anything up about it. Were discussing _eyes only_ society business this morning, and you don’t have clearance.” She said in an agitated voice. Filch slammed down his hand on his desk, making a loud banging sound.

“Well why the hell don’t I have clearance? I’ve been in the society before you were even a glint in your father’s eye. I’m older than you, and I’ve been here longer than you.” Filch said very envious and very bitter. Marietta rolled her eyes.

“Because _you_ didn’t come up with a plan to get Potter out of here, because, _I_ came up with the idea to get rid of both he and Dumbledore, and because _I_ am the personal apprentice to Professor Watson. But if you need more reason, _I_ have no hesitation about having that harmless thing buried under your floor, or beating mudbloods, or doing whatever it takes to secure this world for the purebloods. Oh, and one more reason… **I’m not a fucking squib!”** she finished in a scream. Filch looked sincerely hurt, and walked to the door with his head down. He looked over to Marietta with a sad face.

“You really are a horrible little girl. I’m going to eat, be out of here when I get back.” Filch said, and closed the door behind him. Seamus hugged Marietta from behind, in a tight embrace.

“He’s right you know, you really are a horrible little girl… that’s what I love about you.” Seamus said kissing her neck. She pushed him away, and turned to face him.

“Not just yet, I really do have society business to discuss with you. You see, I only told my Uncle half the plan about what I want to do between Potter and Padma. I’ll need you to prepare something in one of the storage rooms in the dungeons that no one uses. Its storage room number four seven three. Students stay away from it because it always seems to be an attraction for Bogarts. Pansy said she and Draco once had to deal with it in their fourth year, when they tried to use the room to make out in.” Marietta said casually.

“So what? I don’t think that Potter can be killed by a mere Bogart. I mean their hardly dangerous to any students here.” Seamus said not following. Marietta tossed her head, with a slight chuckle.

“It’s not for Potter love, but we will need his wand. I think that it’s time to demonstrate to the students just how insane and dangerous Potter actually is.

“Hummmm, you know I have a feeling that the more we knock Potter out with memory charms and impersonate him the more he’ll remember.” Seamus injected.

“What makes you think that love? I’m getting better at memory charms every time I use them.” Marietta said confidently.

“It’s nothing to do with your ability, or skill… but his. I’ve been into his mind, and he’s not like other people I’ve impersonated, Muggle, or Wizard. I think the only reason he cannot detect my probing his mind is because of his youth. He just hasn’t had enough experience yet. But he will eventually be able to detect me in time,” He stated. Marietta gave a bright smile.

“Time my dear, is something that Potter does not have on his side.”

**The Next Day: Professor Flitwick’s Seventh Year Charms Class.**

The seventh year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students were hard at work on their first major charms test of the school year. Everyone was in a bad mood because no one received any mail that day, not one owl had flown in from the roof. Professor McGonagall had informed the students that the Ministry of Magic had put a temporary freeze on the owls coming into Hogwarts for an unspecified time due to security reasons. She said it was not certain how long it would be for, but that any owls on their way to Hogwarts would be redirected to the Ministry of Magic, and their contents read by officials to make sure that no dangerous letters entered Hogwarts! Professor McGonagall didn’t specify what dangerous letters meant, but said once censored by the proper officials and cleared that they would be forwarded to the students.

Cho was trying not to concentrate on the idea of someone reading her personal mail, and focus on the test at hand. Cho and Beverly had been busy working on their test for the past half hour. Cho had finally been able to get some rest the last few days because she had not been trying to get into the Potions classroom at night. She was also able to concentrate more on her work in class, and not sleep, but because of the time that she missed studying, she was having a lot of difficulty with the test. She concentrated hard, and racked her brain for an answer, but none came to her. Luckily it was a multiple choice test with four possible answers, so she figured she had a one in four chance of getting it right. She marked down her answer to the twentieth question on her parchment with her quill. She was distracted by the door to the classroom opening, and Pansy Parkinson, a sixth year Slytheren Prefect walking into the classroom, and up to the Professor with a Parchment. Cho followed her with her eyes, and turned to watch Flitwick read the parchment. The professor looked at his watch, and scanned the classroom to see who was still working on their test. Suddenly Beverly closed the folder her parchment was in, sat up and walked over to the professor’s desk to turn it in for a grade. She was about to go back to her seat when the professor stopped her, and had her wait with him. Cho then went back to her work, but was not making much progress at it. She didn’t seem to know the answers to half the problems. When she saw that she had only five more minutes left, she just starting filling in the answer bubbles on her parchment. _Better to have a wrong answer than nothing at all she thought._

“Times up!” Professor Flitwick shouted. “Will the remaining students please drop their papers on my desk, now.” Flitwick said. Cho closed her folderstood up, and walked over to Flitwick’s desk to turn in her paper. She noticed that she was the last student to turn her paper in. As Cho passed Beverly she whispered the question of what was going on. Beverly just shrugged, and said that she didn’t know. After Cho had sat down Professor Flitwick called Danielle Forester, and Lori Sanchez to the front, and showed Beverly and them the note. He handed it back to Pansy Parkinson, and the four of them left together. Cho had a nervous feeling in her stomach, seeing Beverly leave with the three other girls, that had beaten her to a pulp only days before. She instantly started to walk towards the door after them.

“ **And where do you think that your going Miss Chang!”** Professor Flitwick shouted annoyed. Cho stopped in her tracks, and looked at him nervously.

“Professor, I think that… that they are going to hurt Beverly!” Cho said genuinely frightened for her friend.

“What! Why would you _say that_ Miss Chang?” he asked as the rest of the students gasped in surprise. Cho froze not sure of what to say. She had not told anyone about the beating she received from Marietta and her gang.

“Well, I just… have this feeling she’s in danger. That’s the way that those girls are.” Cho said reaching for an excuse that she wouldn’t have needed if she had gone to someone earlier about her being beaten. But what could she have told? She had no burses. Cho continued moving toward the door.

“Miss Chang, stop right now! You need to explain this, why do you suspect those students want to do harm to Miss Jones?” Flitwick demanded.

“Because… because they don’t like Muggleborn students, and Beverly is Muggleborn.” Cho continued, almost at the door.

“Well just because someone doesn’t like Muggleborn a student doesn’t mean that they are going to do harm to them. Besides Miss Parkinson had a note from Mr. Filch that they needed to see Madam Pomfrey for their flew shots. Now sit back down and we will discuss this after class.” The Professor said. Cho looked back at him, and then to the door.

“I’m sorry Professor!” She said, and ran out the door, with Flitwick angrily shouting her name behind her. Cho ran as fast as she could down the hall until she caught up with Beverly and the others **. “Beverly wait!”** Cho shouted. Beverly and the other girls turned to look at her.

“What is it Cho? Are you going to get your anti-flu charm as well?” she asked.

“My what?”

“Your anti-flu charm? Is that why the Professor sent you out of the class too?” Beverly asked.

“Err, no… look Beverly don’t go with them! I think they mean you harm.” Cho said.

“What are you talking about Chang?” Lori Sanchez, the Gryffindor in the group asked innocently. Cho balled up her hands into fist ready for a fight.

“ **You know bloody well what I’m talking about. I’m not letting any of my friends near you after what happened in the library the other day.”** Cho said angrily. Beverly was taken aback.  
“What happened in the library the other day Cho?” Beverly asked.

“Yes, what did we do in the library the other day?” Danielle Forester asked.

“ **You know bloody well what happened. You beat the shit out of me and threatened my friends. I thought that last part was an empty threat, but… stay the fuck away from my friends’ arseholes**.” Cho shot angrily.

“Arsehole? How rude Chang. Such foul language!” Pansy said in over dramatic shock. “I’m going to have to take ten points off for that just to teach you a lesson about swearing.” Pansy said.

“ **Screw you!”** Cho said heatedly.

“Twenty points!” Pansy said. Beverly looked back and fourth at the two confused.

“They beat you up Cho? Really?” she said upset. “When, I never saw any burses, you never told me!”

“That’s because it never happened! She’s lying.” Lori shouted. Beverly turned to face Lori with a pissed off look on her face.

“Watch what you say about my friend Sanchez or I’ll send you flying across the room.” Lori looked a little frightened.

“Look Jones, she’s accusing us of something that we didn’t do, I can argue my defense. Where is her proof?” Lori argued back, but was careful not to raise her voice too high.

“Cho’s word is the only proof I need.” Beverly said stepping toward Lori, who instinctively stepped back. “Well it’s not the only proof that one of the **_masters_** will need.” Lori shot. “And I’m going to complain to them about Cho falsely accusing us.” She said defensively.

“Falsely my arse, you stupid bitch.” Cho said pointing an accusing finger at Lori.

“Thirty points!” Pansy put in, “… and you’d better have a look at this Chang.” as she handed Cho the parchment that she had handed to Professor Flitwick to confirm the reason for her visit. Cho snatched it from her hand and read it over. When Cho was done she asked why Argus Filch had signed it, instead of Madam Pomfrey. Pansy said that she didn’t know, and that it was none of her business, but that she had been given the Parchment, and told by Filch himself, to take it to Cho’s class. Beverly now turned her attention to Cho.

“Look Cho, why didn’t you tell me that they beat you up, and why don’t you have any burses, and why aren’t any of them in detention or expelled?” Beverly asked confused.

“ **Because it’s not true!”** Lori said angrily.

“Shut up Lori! When I want your opinion, I’ll give it too you.” Beverly said with rage, she turned to Cho. “Well Cho, answer my question.” Beverly said. Cho lowered her eyes.

“Well… I… I didn’t tell anyone because, I guess it was embarrassing. And I don’t have burses, because Marietta healed them.” Cho said. Beverly’s eyes went wide.

“You went to Marietta for help? I though that she was the last person that you would have wanted help from.” Beverly said.

“Oh no Beverly, I didn’t go to her for help, she was with them, they beat me up, and she healed my wounds, and said that if I didn’t join her that she would hurt my friends. I didn’t think that they were serious, but now I’m not sure.” Cho said.

“Why did she heal you?” Beverly asked.

“I guess that they didn’t want to get in trouble for beating me.” Cho said.

“ **Miss Chang! You’re in a lot of trouble!”** Professor Flitwick said from behind Cho. Everyone jumped and turned to see Professors’ Flitwick, McGonagall, and Mr. Argus Filch walking up to them.

“Professor! I think that they were going to hurt Beverly, I had to stop them. The parchment that Miss Parkinson gave to her wasn’t even from Madam Pomfrey, it was from Filch” Cho started.

“Chang has been making up stories about us Professors’. She accused us of attacking her in the library. She’s just trying to get Jones to push us around.” Lori said more brave now that the Professors were here to protect her from Jones.

“And she’s been swearing like a sailor too. I took off thirty points for her filthy mouth.” Pansy injected. Flitwick turned to Filch. Did you write that pass Filch?” he asked. Filch looked uneasy.

“Err, well yes, Madam Pomfrey was very busy, and asked me to find a prefect to deliver the note to, and well Miss Parkinson was between classes, and so I wrote her a note to bring in the students that she requested. I was under the impression that the students were being given anti-flu shots this week. Is that not true Professor?” Filch asked, ashen faced.

“Well yes, but I didn’t know that she was pulling students out of class until just now. I thought that she would do that after last period.” Flitwick said. He then looked at Cho. “Miss Chang, what’s this about you being attacked in the library by these students?” Cho was about to speak, but was cut off by Lori.

“She accused, us of attacking her the other day in the library, but where are her burses? Not only that but we have witnesses that can prove that she was the one causing trouble in the library that day. There are Ian Lewis, Oliver Skint, and Devin Lewis” Lori said in a hostile tone. “Ask them if you will Professor.” She finished.

“They were all in on it too!” Cho said.

“Oh Chang, is every student in the school in on you imaginary beating?” Danielle asked. Danielle then turned to Professor Flitwick. “Professor, can we all go to see madam Pomfrey now. It will prove that she really sent us, and then we can get our anti-flu charms.” Danielle said. Professor thought about it, for a second.

“Yes, by all means, lets all go to see Madam Pomfrey, and _confirm the notes purpose,_ after all then we can put Miss Changs fears to rest.” Flitwick said.

“What… what do you mean _confirm the notes purpose?_ I wrote it my… my self, surly I can be trusted. I’ve been with this school over forty years!” Filch said nervously.

“Oh of course we trust you Filch, but Miss Chang has made vary serious accusations, we just need to confirm it for the record. Nothing against you at all. I know that Madam Pomfrey will confirm your story. But I don’t think that the poor child will calm herself if we don’t do this.” Flitwick finished.

The group of Hogwart’s students and staff entered the Hospital room to find Madam Pomfrey pushing something into a locker, and struggling to close the door. Finally she slammed it shut by pushing it with all her body weight. That ought to keep you out of the way!” she said.

“Ahem.” Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. Pomfrey looked up at everyone surprised to see some of the Masters present.

“Oh, um hello all.” she asked.

“Ought to keep whom out of the way?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“What?” Pomfrey replied.

“That will keep whom? What were you talking about?”

“Oh, um just some… err… sheets, which I… needed to put up. Putting them in the locker will keep them out of the way.” She said nervously. “Mmmm… may I help you all?” she asked. Flitwick moved forward with the note from Filch to have the students brought from class.

“Can you tell us Miss Pomfrey, did you tell Mr. Filch to have one of the Prefects take students out of class to get anti-flu charms?” Flitwick asked politely. Madam Pomfrey read over the letter, and confirmed that she had indeed instructed Filch to get a student to fetch the seventh years listed on the note.

“You see I have a particular list and it turned out that I had accidentally skipped over a few students. I was just trying to finish off the first part of my list you see. After a brief conversation about Cho’s concerns everyone was assured that all was as it should be. Cho was told to apologize to the students, and did so reluctantly.

Professor Flitwick looked at Cho concerned, and gave a great sigh.

“Look Miss Chang, I need to know very seriously. Do you stand by your statement that Miss Sanchez and her fellow students attacked you? Cho looked at Beverly with an apologetic glance for not telling her about the incident. She thought for a minute, and then turned back to Professor Flitwick, and nodded her head.

Yes, sir. All of them except Beverly. She wasn’t there, and would never do that sort of thing, because she’s my friend, and a good person. Marietta was their leader.” Cho finished.

“Well, I think that all of us should go down to the library and have a chat. Pansy, will you go down to my classroom and fetch Miss Edgencombe, I think that she needs to be there as well.” Flitwick said. He looked over at the other students. “And the rest of you come along, as well, this concerns you all.” Flitwick finished.

“Oh Professors, um… I really did want to finish up with the students anti-flu charms, do you think that they could stay for a short time. I promise that I can have them right down. The Professor looked at his bewitched watch, and then back up at Madam Pomfrey.

“Alright, but please do be quick about it. We need to get this settled before next period. Professor McGonagall and I both have classes with no teacher in them.” He said.

“No problem. I’ll have them off to the library very quickly. You can even take Miss Chang with you now, she’s on the bottom of my list, and I like to take it in order.” She smiled. “Oh Mr. Filch may I see you for a moment.” Pomfrey called to filch as McGonagall and Flitwick left out the door with Cho. Filch walked over to her and they went to a corner of the room, and the expression of Madams Pomfrey’s face changed to one of anger, but she kept her voice quiet as she spoke through gritted teeth.

“What the bloody hell is this fiasco? The masters weren’t supposed to come here! This could have exposed us. I wasn’t ready, I was just stuffing the bitch in the locker when they came in.” she said annoyed.

“It’s not my fault. Marietta didn’t plan well enough. This was all her idea, what do we do now. We didn’t count on the Chang girl raising a fuss. She suspected what Marietta’s friends wanted to do. Should we forget about it today?” Filch whispered. Madam Pomfrey sighed.

“No, we’ll take care of Miss Jones, but Marietta will have to deal with the rest of Chang’s friends without me. I need to focus on Potter. For now he is the only target that maters. Just tell Marietta to meet me in your office tonight. I’ll have a few words for her. “Now, go before you’re missed, I’ll take care of things here. I’ll pretend to give the girls anti-flu charms to fool Miss Jones, but they will have to come back here later on their own, because I really don’t know how to do them.” She said.

“I thought that you could read a persons mind when you became them.” Filch said a little too loud.

“Keep your voice down! I would have to lay down and concentrate while I’m going through a persons mind first. But Marietta and Professor Watson trained me in other ways to deal with people. For a short time Miss Jones will appear normal, but, after a while… well I’ll just take care of her myself so that Cho’s friends don’t have to kick her arse.” Madam Pomfrey finished. Filch nodded and walked out the door.

One by one the fake madam Pomfrey sat the students in a chair and pretended to cast an anti-flu charm on the students, and one by one she sent them to go to the library to meet with the Professors, until finally Beverly Jones was the only student left. While Beverly Jones waited Madam Pomfrey mixed some potions in a couple of vials. She poured some of the formula into a spoon, heated it over a candle and poured them into a small vile. She then took out a syringe, and placed the needle in the vile, pulling back on the stopper to fill the syringe. She then walked over to Beverly with the needle at the ready. “Now dear I just need you to roll up your arm for me. Beverly looked at the needle nervously.

“What… what are you going to do with that? Everyone else got a charm; they didn’t have to get a shot.” She said. Madam Pomfrey smiled, and pulled a wand from her pocket. She said an incantation and ropes wrapped around Beverly, and the chair she was in instantly.

“ **Hey what’s going on here? What are you doing?”** Beverly asked frightened, as she struggled in vein to free herself.

“Oh you’re going to get a charm dear, but it’s going to be a memory charm, you see I really don’t know how to perform an anti-flu charm.” Pomfrey said.

“ **What? But you’re the school healer.”** Beverly shouted. Madam Pomfrey put a tea towel in Beverly’s mouth to keep her quite.

“Your friend Chang had good instincts not to trust those students alone with you. The plan was for them to beat you senseless first, and then I would inject you with this. Chang has caused me to modify the plan, but the result is the same. For a few days you should be okay, but… well let’s just say that the only one who can help you now is Chang, and that’s _only if she does exactly what we want._ Too bad that we’ll have to be a little more creative when we inject Nancy Cromwell. Chang has been quite a nuisance today, but I can assure you that she’ll see things our way soon enough.” Madam Pomfrey said with a smile, she waited until Beverly’s eyes began to grow heavy and then gave her a memory charm, and sent her to her dorm room to sleep.

“Now Miss Chang, your friends will pay for your stubbornness. But first I have to take care of Potter. Madam Pomfrey looked at her watch.

“Well not exactly how I planed it, but I guess I have no choice. She grabbed a quill, and piece of parchment and began to write a hall pass out. The school bell rang, and students started filling the hall outside. Madam Pomfrey picked a random student out of the crowd.

“You there come here.” She shouted at a fourth year Slytheren girl with dark skin, and dark brown hair.

“Me miss?” she asked surprised.

“Yes you, what is your name?”

“Um, Monica Mancera. What did I do?” she asked concerned.

“Nothing, take this note to Professor Snape, and have him sent to Mr. Filches office right away. It’s important. About him serving punishment. Go right away.” Pomfrey said urgently.

“But Miss, I’m not a prefect, shouldn’t you assign a prefect to this job?” she said confused.

“There is not time. Just go, you have the hall pass. Off you go.” She finished, closed the door, and locked it.

Madam Pomfrey then went to the locker, and opened it causing the real Madam Pomfrey’s unconscious nude body to fall out. She quickly undressed herself, and with great difficulty put the clothes back on the real Madam Pomfrey’s body. Then she reached into the locker and pulled out a Gryffindor school uniform that was too small for her. She concentrated and sank to the floor as she melted into the floor in a clear blob. The blob quickly became the form of Seamus Finnegan, and he put on the uniform which now fit perfectly. Seamus looked at his watch; he would have to hurry to beat Potter to Filches office. Dam Chang for the trouble she was starting. _This wasn’t how things were supposed to happen._


	39. Chapter 39: Lack of Evidence

**Chapter 39: Lack of Evidence**

****

****Cho's POV:** **

****

Professor Flitwick looked at his watch again for the third time, and gave a deep sigh. He was one of the four Hogwart's staff members in the room. Professor McGonagall, Argus Filch, and the Librarian comprised the others. In addition Marietta Edgencombe was in attendance, along with Pansy Parkinson, and the girls who had been taken out of Professor Flitwick's class. Everyone had been waiting in the library for Beverly Jones for fifteen minutes. Finally the student that professor Flitwick had sent to see what had happened came back into the library.

****

"Madam Pomfrey said that she had finished Jones just moments after she was done with the others, and that she had sent her on her way here. Apart from that she doesn't know what happened to her." The boy said. Professor McGonagall nodded.

****

"Thank you Mr. Miller, I believe that you have my class next, please inform my students that I will be late, and keep everything in order for me will you please." McGonagall requested.

****

"Yes Professor, I'll have it taken care of immediately." The boy said, and exited the library just as Hermione, and Lavender Brown were coming in. Professor McGonagall saw the two and told them that the library was closed right now and they would have to come back later for what ever it was that they wanted. They both looked disappointed, but left anyway.

****

"Well we can't wait for her any longer, let's get this over with. Now Miss Chang, as you still claim that Miss Edgencombe and her friends attacked you in the library, I need to know the exact date, and time that this happened." Professor Flitwick said in a very serious tone. Cho thought hard to remember the approximate time that everything had happened.

****

"Um it was around lunch, I remember because the bell rang just before Marietta and everyone else came in to harass me." Cho said in a monotone voice.

****

"You're sure Miss Chang? No mistake, about twelve o clock then?" The Professor asked still very serious. Cho nodded her head.

****

"Yes Professor, around twelve on Saturday. No mistake." Cho said sure of her self. Professor Flitwick nodded.

****

"Okay Professor McGonagall, are you ready to see who's telling the truth?" Professor Flitwick asked the Gryffindor head of house. Professor McGonagall nodded, and the two of them began reciting incantations, and blasting to room with green, and pink sparks from their wands. As they did Cho looked at Marietta with a sense of satisfaction, she was feeling good for the first time in a long time because she knew that as soon as the Professors finished what they were doing, it would prove that Marietta and her friends were liars, and she would probably even lose her Head Girl position too. Yes, Cho definitely started to feel good inside, the feeling was one of… justice she thought. Yes justice. The only funny thing was that Marietta was staring back at her with a smile that didn't exactly reflect a look that was filled with fear of getting caught. The Professors continued working, and blasting the walls with spells with their wands for a few more minutes. When they had finished they asked all the students to stand against the walls. Finally Professor McGonagall stepped up to address the students.

****

"Now there is something that you should all know. Just about everything about this castle is magical. Even the walls have memories. We can bring those memories back into view sometimes, especially the most recent ones. What Miss Chang has accused her fellow students here of is a brutal attack that took place this past Saturday. It was an attack in which she also claims that her friends were threatened with violence as well. The rest of the students in here claim that they did nothing to Miss Chang, and that she is making the whole thing up. _Now,_ through the power of Magic, we shall be able to see who is lying, and who is telling the truth. Professor Flitwick began to wave his wand in a circular motion above his head and red sparks flew across the room. In magic writing, in the middle of the air, a digital clock formed, along with the date of the incident. The clock counted down, as everyone in the room followed the gaze of the professors along the room. They appeared to be waiting for something, but Cho and the others couldn't tell what. After a few minutes of the clock counting down, and nothing happening, Professor Flitwick walked over to Cho. "Miss Chang, are you sure that it was around this time?" He asked. Cho nodded.

****

"Yes professor. I'm sure of it, what's supposed to be happening?" she asked. Cho's head of house looked at her concerned.

****

"Well if what you said happened real did take place then the spells we preformed will cause the images from the incident to be repeated. You'll see the entire incident replayed, and it will look real." Professor Flitwick explained. They both looked back to the center of the room, and no images appeared. Professor Flitwick thought for a minute, and seemed to come up with an idea.

****

"I'll just add a time compression spell." He said. He flicked his wand, and the magical clock sped up at rapid pace. Everyone waited, but still nothing happened. After a few minutes the Professor added another time compression spell and the clock moved even faster. Professors' McGonagall and Flitwick waited until the clock ran to the end of the hour that Cho was supposedly attacked, before dispelling the clock. When they finally finished, Professor Flitwick and McGonagall had very upset looks on their faces. Flitwick's was a look of sadness, and McGonagall's one of anger. Professor McGonagall walked over to Cho.

****

"Miss Chang, what you have done today is unacceptable. You have falsely accused other students of a very serious crime. I can't tell you how disappointed that I am in you, and can tell you that…" McGonagall started, but was cut off.

****

"But Miss, it's true, they did attack me, and they did threaten my friends. Maybe your spell didn't work, maybe…" Cho started to reply very upset.

****

" **Stop it Miss Chang!** There is nothing wrong with my spells and there was no altercation that took place in this library at lunch time. You will have to be punished, and you owe these student's and Mr. Filch an apology." McGonagall said raising her voice. Cho started crying. But… I… didn't… do anything. I… told you the… truth." Cho choked out. Cho turned to Professor Flitwick. "Professor, you believe me don't you?" Cho pleaded. Professor Flitwick looked at her sadly.

****

"Miss Chang, the spell we cast showed the truth. That nothing happened here during that time. I'm afraid that I have no choice but to put you into student Isolation for two weeks. Tomorrow you will report to Mr. Filch with all your books and supplies. You will study in a classroom in one of the dungeons and…" he began. Cho shook her head, _this wasn't happening!_

****

"Professor no, I…" Cho started.

****

" ** _And_** you will take your lunch in the dungeon. All your assignments will be brought to you. And also, regrettably, the thirty points take by Miss Parkinson still stands. It will be brought to you, by a house elf. Miss Chang… I'm very disappointed in you… no, actually I'm very hurt by your actions. You always have been my favorite student, hard working, knowledgeable, always helping out other students… _but now_ … just report to Mr. Filches office tomorrow after breakfast. Professor Flitwick walked out of the library, and as he passed the other students he told them that they were dismissed. Professor McGonagall then waved her wand around the room, and let green sparks fly out. The clock disappeared, and she also left. Cho scanned the room remembering the attack. She had her back to the door, but she knew instinctively that someone was behind her… and she knew who it was without looking.

****

"How did you do it Marietta?" Cho said in a monotone voice. Cho could feel Marietta smiling behind her.

****

"Do what Chang?" Marietta questioned in a girlish voice.

****

"How did you make it to where they couldn't see what really happened. How did you hide the beating you and your lot gave me last Saturday?" Cho continued.

****

"Don't know what you're talking about Chang, my friends and I were never in the library last Saturday. You must be lying. Well, I've got to be off to class now. Have fun in student isolation tomorrow. See you in two weeks." Marietta finished.

****

" **Marietta!"** Cho called without looking at her.

****

"What is it Chang." Marietta replied.

****

"We both know what really happened here. I'm going to find proof, and everyone will know the truth." Cho said.

****

"Hump. You're delusional _Slant_. Better watch those false accusations. I am still Head Girl you know. And although I would hate to take points off my own house, you may just force me too. _Goodbye_." Marietta replied, and walked out the door, leaving a depressed Cho to fully take in her punishment.

****

**Harry's POV:**

****

Harry Potter stood outside Filche's office, with the note that Madam Pomfrey had given to the Slytheren girl to show Professor Snape. Harry had been as glad to leave Snape's class as Snape was to have him leave, but Harry was confused at the reason for his summoning here to Filche's office, by the school healer no less. He rapped on the door, and it opened a crack. A voice beckoned him in, but it was not Filche's. This was a familiar voice with a thick Irish accent. Harry walked in the office, and quickly spun around as some one immediately closed and locked the door behind him. "Seamus!" Harry said surprised to see his classmate in the office. Seamus had not been to class all day, and no one had seen him anywhere in the school.

****

"Hello Potter, what brings you here?" Seamus asked.

****

"Well a Slytheren girl sent a note from madam Pomfrey for me to come here. Why are you here, and where have you been all day?" Harry said.

****

"Oh, I've been preparing things for this all day Potter." Seamus said with a smile, as he raised his index finger to point at Harry. Suddenly Harry's instinctively thought that he was in danger, and reached for his wand, he was fast, but not fast enough. A string of something jetted out from Shamus's finger attaching to Harry's head. Suddenly the world became dark and he slipped into unconsciousness.

****

Harry felt dizzy; he stared down at the papers that were on the desk in front of him. He tried to concentrate on what had happened to him. He looked around the room. Filch was working on some paperwork at his desk. Harry looked more closely at his own paperwork. He was filling out daily reports of the castle cleaning, and writing a list of incidents that had happened in the castle for the week. _How long have I been doing this?_ Harry thought to himself. _I don't even know what I've been doing here. Look at this paper. I must have filled out half of the reports already. I don't even remember doing it._ Harry looked back to Mr. Filch who looked at his watch, closed the folders that he was working on, and looked down at Harry.

****

"Mr. Potter, you may go. I think that you have served enough time for using foul language in the hall, but I hope that you can understand that this type of behavior will not be tolerated at Hogwarts. Do you understand Mr. Potter? Harry felt light headed, he barley remembered anything after arriving at Filches office. Harry nodded his head.

****

"Yes, Mr. Filch. Sorry about that." Harry said. As Harry walked out the door of Filche's office. As it closed behind Harry he looked over to see Peeves, the Hogwarts poltergeist waiting outside.

****

" **What was in the office Potter? What was in the office? Tell your good friend Peeves!"** Peeves pleaded. Harry tried to concentrate.

****

"Well, I don't know, just… normal stuff, like desk, and file cabinets, and chairs. He had me working on the reports for punishment for swearing. But I barely remember doing it." Harry said to a disappointed Peeves as he left to go to the great hall for dinner. He sat down by Ron and Ginny who both looked at him with shocked faces.

****

"What? What's wrong?" Harry asked concerned.

****

"Well Harry, did you talk to Parvati Patel's sister Padma, today?" Ron asked.

****

"Um, I don't really remember. I don't think so. I barely remember anything in detail that happened after going to Filches office today. Why do you ask?" Harry replied. Ron looked very concerned.

****

"Well Harry Parvatie's sister said that you threatened her and Allen Miller, today after the last period, and their fuming mad at you. You didn't, did you?" Ron asked.

****

" **No!** Come on Ron do you think that I would ever do anything like that?" Harry said a little offended. Ron shook his head.

****

"Of coarse not. But Parvati and her sister think that you did, and they are really pissed off. I didn't see you for a while, and you were acting a bit strange after you came back from his office that first time. What happened when you went there?" Ron asked. Harry again concentrated, trying to focus on a clear memory of the events.

****

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. I mean my memories are very fuzzy. I remember that I was accused of swearing in the halls, and I remember doing it. I remember going to all my classes, but I don't remember any details, it's like their someone else's memories. Like everything that happened today was a dream. There is some missing time. I don't remember any faces, or anytime in between class, very well. It was if everyone were just shadows that I passed. I don't even remember studying anything in particular. My memories are like… I studied transfiguration… but have no memory of what I studied about it." Harry said upset at not being able to bring up any clear memories. Ron thought for a minute.

****

"Look Harry, I really think that you need to go see Dumbledore about this. Something strange is going on this year. I'm not sure what it is, but it's long since past time that you talked to him." Ron said. Harry nodded.

****

"Your right Ron. I'll go see him in a few days. I just… I'm still mad at him. I still have issues." Harry said, as he reached for his goblet.

****

**The Next Day: After Breakfast**

****

Cho stood outside the student Isolation classroom door with her books, and supplies waiting for Mr. Filch and Professor Flitwick to arrive. She was depressed and leaning against the wall, trying to think of how Marietta could have made it so that nothing appeared when the Professors cast their spells in the library. _"She's just a school girl like me. Smarter, but… could she do this on her own?"_ Cho thought.

****

"Hey Cho what's up!" came a friendly voice. Cho looked up to see Stephanie Burt walk up beside her with an arm full of her own books.

****

"Oh, hey Steph. What's up?" Cho asked softly.

****

"Well I'm joining you today." She smiled. Cho raised an eye brown in surprise.

****

"You're joining me? Why?" Cho asked.

****

"Well I smarted off to Professor Snape yesterday. He asked me why I couldn't concentrate in class that day, and I told him it was because it was boring. Then he said that if I thought that I could do any better than why I don't go to the front and teach. Well I walked up and started, and he gave me a choice, lose fifty points for Ravenclaw, or isolation for two days, but I don't care it got a laugh, and got me a few pats on the back. That guys a real jerk. How long are you in for?" Stephanie asked.

****

"Two weeks." Cho said quietly. Stephanie's eyes widened.

****

"Holy shit! Two weeks, what the hell did you do to get two weeks." She asked in amazement.

****

"It's a long story, I… I got into trouble because Professor Flitwick thought I was lying about something, and I don't have any proof yet that I'm not." Cho said.

****

"Wow you got into trouble with Flitwick, and he gave you two weeks, must have been serious." Stephanie Burt said shocked. Two other students walked up behind Stephanie with arms full of books. The boy was in the year below Cho and Steph, he had blond hair, and a frown on his face. Both were in Slytheren. Stephanie recognized them instantly.

****

"Oh, hey Chinexican, hey Draco, what are you two doing here?" She asked.

****

"We got in trouble the other day for um, making out between classes. So Filch gave us four days detention in isolation." She said irritated. Fortunately this is our last day it's boring as hell.

****

"Your name is Chinexican?" Cho asked curious.

****

"Oh Cho, these are my friends Draco, and Monica. Her nickname is Chinexican, because she's half Chinese, and Half Mexican. Her Parents emigrated here from Mexico. Guys this is Cho Chang." Stephanie said introducing everyone.

****

"Oh, you're Chinese as well? No offence, but you would never know it." Cho asked. Looking at the girl she didn't look Chinese at all. She was pretty, her skin was very dark, even more than Cho's, but she had round eyes, and a pointy European nose.

****

"None taken, in fact I'll consider it a complement, owed to my fathers dominate genes. I hate flat noses, and squinty eyes. I would hate to look like that." The girl said happily, oblivious to who she was talking too. Cho suddenly became self conscious, and felt her nose with one hand.

****

"Professor Flitwick and Mr. Filch walked up, neither looking any too pleased. Filch pulled some keys from his pocket, and unlocked the door. Everyone was beckoned inside the room. Cho walked through the door, behind Stephanie. This was Cho's first time in student isolation. The room was very large. In the middle of the room sat a single desk and chair facing the far wall. Along the walls were several smaller desk and chars facing the walls. Each desk was blocked off by partitions on either side. Professor Flitwick who was normally know as the friendliest staff member in the school had a grim angry look on his face now, as he stood facing the students before him.

****

"Now for those of you who have never been in isolation before I'm going to give you the rules and for those of you who have been in isolation before… I'm going to impress it upon your minds one more time. Now First of all there is to be no talking at anytime while you're in here. This room has been jinxed with a special spell that will seal your mouth shut all day if you try and speak to another student. There is to be no note passing in this room. Any notes written will instantly fly over to Mr. Filches desk upon completion. You will not look behind you for any reason. If anyone has to go to the rest room at anytime, you will raise your hand, and wait for Mr. Filch to come up to you, and give you permission to go. It will be one at a time, and you are expected to be back very quickly. **Lunch!** You will not be going to the great hall for lunch, it will be brought to you by a house elf from the kitchen. You will complete all the work assigned to you each day. All your assignments have been readied by all the masters, and are waiting for you on Mr. Filche's desk. Pick them up now." Filch finished, as everyone grabbed a folder with their name on it. "Now you will not be allowed to sit next to each other lest you forget about the jinx, and feel compelled to talk. Your detention for the day ends just before dinner. Burt you take desk number one, Malfoy number three, Chang…" Flitwick suddenly had that same disappointed look from the other day in his eyes. It hurt Cho to see it. Chang, you take number five, and Manceria, number seven. Mr. Filch will be here to keep you all company, and I don't ever want to see any of you here again after you have served your detentions, is that understood?" Filched finished. The students nodded, as they headed to their desk. Cho looked to her left and could see nothing but a wooden partition with some graphite on it. In front of her was a wall of black stone, she turned to her left and all she could see was another wooden partition with more graphite from students who had been in the same situation over the years. Cho began to read some as she opened her books, and got ready to study.

****

" ** _George was here, but now he's gone, he's left this place to carry on, those who knew me, knew me well, and those who didn't can go to hell."_** Cho glanced back at another one on her left side that was older, and could barley be made out, and her eyes went wide as she read the name of its author.

****

" ** _Mr. Filch is a stupid piece of troll dung and Snape is a stupid sneak." James Potter._** Cho smiled, she would tell Harry about it, after her detention, and maybe he could come over and have a look when the room wasn't in use. Maybe he would like that, she thought, as she started in on her homework.

****

**Harry's POV**

****

"Harry was walking down a busy hall on his way to dinner, when Allen Miller suddenly ran up to him and pushed him up against the wall, causing Harry to bang his head. Miller pinned him against the wall with one hand while the other was held up in a fist, ready to strike.

****

" **Hey Potter, want to make another threat against me and my girlfriend?"** Miller said angrily.

****

"What are you talking about Miller? I've never threatened you or your girlfriend!" Harry said defensively. This seemed to infuriate Miller to the point of his face turning red.

****

" **Liar!** You threatened us just yesterday! Don't like most purebloods do you? Well Padma asked me to just let it go yesterday, and because she was with me I didn't take care of you, but now that she's not around I'm going to kick your arse as a lesson not to go around threatening people. _Especially me and my girlfriend!_ " Miller said with rage, as several students looked on in shock. Harry pushed Miller away.

****

"Get off me you stupid Slytheren git! I didn't say shit to you and Padma. You're the one who's lying!" Harry shouted. Miller slammed his fist into Harry's head, causing him to fall to the hard rock ground of the dungeon. Harry immediately got back up and ran at miller full force crashing his head into Miller's stomach. Miller doubled over and Harry caught him with a fist just above the left eye, causing him to stagger back, holding his head in pain. Suddenly Harry was aware of chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" From the students around them. Miller came back with a right swinging fist that Harry knocked away. Harry slammed his fist into Miller's right eye sending him toppling over. Harry then pulled Miller up, and penned him against the wall.

****

"Look Miller, cut this out, I didn't do anything!" Harry said proclaiming his innocence.

****

"Ha! You said that you would deny everything to both of us yesterday. Said that no one would believe our word over The Boy Who lived! Well fuck your title Potter! I couldn't care less what the call you. I'll still kick your arse. You said that you would take care of us when we lest expected it, well I'm always going to be ready for you Potter." Miller said.

****

"Miller, I never said that I…" Harry began, but was cut off.

****

" **Hey everyone!** Professor Sprout is on her way here, Potter, Miller, you'd both best better clear out if you don't want to get suspended for fighting." A fourth year Huffelpuff boy said pointing down the hall. Miller looked at Harry.

****

"This isn't over Potter! I'm going to find you the first Hogsmead weekend, and we'll finish this. And if you lay a hand on Padma, I'll kill you." Miller said with barely controlled rage, and took off in the opposite direction of where Professor Sprout was said to be coming from. The other students started to clear out as well. Harry felt his head; he was lightly bleeding from a slight cut.

****

"Shit." He said, and ducked into a nearby bath room to avoid the Professor, and to perform a healing spell on himself. He stuck his wand to his head, and said a simple healing incantation. An orange spark came out of his wand, but nothing happened. Harry looked at his wand, it wasn't broken, but something felt different about it. He had not had to use it all day, so he hadn't noticed it before, but something just seemed different. It looked just like it had before. Harry held it up to the wound again, repeating the incantation, but again only a light spark came out. Harry shook it in frustration, and tried again. Nothing. " _What is going on?_ " He thought to himself. _"Should I go to Dumbledore about this? No, who then? I have to tell someone. Professor McGonagall, She'll know what to do. First thing in the morning."_

****


	40. Chapter 40: Torment in Room #473

**Chapter 40: Torment in Room #473**

****

**That Night: One o'clock in the morning**

Marietta and Seamus walked carefully and quietly down the sixth story corridor of the North Tower, until they came to the fourth door down. They gently and slowly pushed open the door and slipped into a room of sixth year Ravenclaw girls, who were fast asleep in their beds. There were four beds, like in all the other common rooms, each with their curtains drawn. One of the figures moved up to the first bed, and moved the curtain away with one hand as they pointed their wand at the sleeping girl with the other.

"Quiesco Profundus," Marietta said quietly. A white beam shot out of the wand and into the sleeping girl. She twitched for a moment, but was then very still. The flash started to awaken a second girl across from her, and she sat up quickly, but Seamus softly repeated the same spell, and the girl fell back lightly in her bed. Then they moved independently to the last two beds in the room and repeated the spell on the last two girls. When they had finished they pulled the curtains back on the last four post bed, pulled the sheets down and looked down at the unconscious figure of Padma Patel. The female used a stiffening spell to straiten her body like a board, and then a levitation spell to raise it from her bed. Marietta then moved to open the door, and look into the corridor, as Seamus pushed the unconscious body of Padma by the shoulders up to the door.

"Okay, it's clear, let's go. Marietta whispered, as she stepped quietly down the hall, and moved to the top of the stairs. She waited for Seamus to catch up to her. "Wait here." She said softly.

"Where are you going?" Seamus asked. Marietta spun around, and put a finger to her lips.

"Shuuuu. Look I've got to go cover up the evidence as we leave. The masters are sure to do the same thing that they did yesterday, and try to find out how she got out of her room, after they find her. There can be no trace of what really happened here. Now take her down stairs, I'll be along in a few minutes." Marietta said in the softest whisper. She then went back into the room that they had just left and began casting spells, to erase the memory of what had occurred there.

Seamus stood down stairs for the next several minutes, waiting for Marietta to finish, the body of Padma hovering beside him. He looked at the unmoving paintings that she had zapped with her wand to freeze them, just like she had done with the painting of the soldier and his lady outside the common room. Finally Marietta came back down the stairs zapping the walls, ceiling and floor behind her as she did. Marietta continued this process as Seamus pushed Padma out the secret common room passage. When they were both out in the hall Seamus turned to Marietta.

"Now what? You can't zap everything while we go down the halls, it would take to much time!" He said anxiously.

"Not to worry love. Just catch Patel as I get rid of the levitation spell." Marietta said as she pulled out her wand and dispelled the levitation charm. Padma started to fall, as her legs hit the ground with a light thud, but Seamus was able to keep her upper body from hitting the floor. "Hold her up." Marietta said to Seamus to make sure that the coast was clear. Seamus held her up by hooking his arms under her, as Marietta also dispelled the sleep charm that Padma was under. Marietta lightly slapped her to wake her up, and Padma groggily opened her eyes. Marietta then pulled out her wand and held it too her head.

"What… what's going on?" Padma asked sleepily, just before she was hit by a memory charm that made her quite for a minute.

"Now you think that were heading to a party and that Allen Miller is waiting for you. You will be quite because it's after curfew, and you don't want to get caught." Marietta said in an authoritive tone.

"Yes, I'm going to see Allen." Padma said sleepily. Marietta then produced her invisibility cloak, and motioned Seamus to get next to Padma. Marietta then began zapping the surrounding area with her wand, blue sparks flashing out. When she was done she moved herself under the invisibility cloak on the other side of Padma. They moved through several corridors and stairways down into the dungeons, at a slow pace. Padma was slowing them up, as she was still "drunk" from the memory charm. They kept a steady pace however, stopping only once when the Bloody Barron, the ghost of Slytheren house floated by. After what seemed an eternity they finally arrived at their destination; **_storage room number four seven three._** They all moved inside, and Marietta closed the door behind them.

"Luminous, Marietta said, and her wand lit up a room full of boxes, old desk, and file cabinets. In the center of the room sat a single wooden chair. Marietta guided Padma over to it, and sat her down. Padma looked around at the room, everything had dust on it, and it looked as if it hadn't been used for a long time. Marietta lit two torches hanging next to the door with her wand to bring additional light into the room.

"What's going on Marietta? Where is the party?" Marietta raised her wand again and magical ropes appeared around Padma, and bound her to the chair. A second spell caused a gag to appear in her mouth, to keep her quite. Padma's eyes showed the fear that her voice could not convey, she struggled in vain to free herself from the ropes, and tried uselessly to cry for help. Marietta now turned to Seamus.

"Now love, lets start looking for that Bogart." Marietta said as they both started looking around the boxes, and other clutter in the room. They had been searching for ten minutes when finally Seamus saw a file cabinet shaking in a corner.

"There!" he said pointing to the object. Marietta levitated it around the room, and brought it down to ground next to the wall that Padma was facing. Seamus held his wand up, and looked at Marietta. "Open it now?" Seamus asked. Marietta scoffed.

"Of coarse not… Padma and I have some chatting to do first." Marietta said as she pulled a chair over to where Padma sat. Marietta sat down in front of the girl that she had tied up. "Now Padma, I just wanted to say that I have absolutely nothing against you. You're a pureblood and I highly respect you for that. I would have loved to have you in our organization, but alas it wasn't meant to be. But don't worry in the future your family will be taken care of, and might even be leaders in a grand new society that excludes all _but our own kind_. Now, I'm going to take the gag out of your mouth, but I need you to be very quite. If you scream I'll have to hit you with a jinx, do you understand?" Marietta said casually. Padma nodded. "Good!" Marietta said happily as she took off the gag. Instantly Padma erupted into a fit of anger.

" **What the hell do you think your doing Marietta? Have you lost your mind, you can't keep me tied up here, and what's all this crap you're babbling about new societies, and our own kind?"** Padma said loudly. Marietta held up a finger to Padma's lips.

"Shuuu, don't bother with it. I'm going to tell you a story now about Bogart's. Now Bogart's are amazing creatures. They become your worst nightmare when you encounter them, but they are no danger to older children, or adults, because they are simple to get rid of you just flick your wand, imagine it looking silly in some way, and say **Ridiculous** , and they are completely harmless, and any children not old enough to have a wand are simply taught to avoid them. Bogart's also don't bother people too much anyway, because their ability to become the worst nightmare of the person is merely an evolved defense mechanism. You see I've been doing some reading of late, and I found that out. Now a Bogart will attack something right in front of it because it may feel threatened. But like I said any witch or wizard with a wand can get rid of it, just by a wave of a wand and a simple incantation…" Marietta explained, but was cut off.

" **Marietta I don't give a shit about Bogarts', we learned that in my third year, so what? You want to see if I can perform the spell? Is that why you tied me up?"** Padma screamed. Marietta slapped her hard across the face. Padma was quite, but had a pissed look on her face.

" _Two things_ , first I told you to keep your voice down, and second I don't like being interrupted. Now where was I… oh yes, as I was saying, Bogarts are hardly a threat if you have even the most basic training in Defense against Dark Arts… _and a wand._ But what if you didn't have one, and then what would you do Padma?" Marietta asked her voice becoming more sinister.

"I would just avoid it; they leave you alone if you don't bother them. They only attack if you crowd them in." Padma said. "Now untie me now Marietta and I won't kick your arse. I have to meet my boyfriend at a party." Padma said angrily. Marietta sighed.

"Yea, I don't think that you're going to make that party. You see that file cabinet? There's a Bogart in there, and someone is going to kill you with it tonight." Marietta said. A look of terror came over Padma's face.

"What? Marietta… please let me go." Padma said her voice changing to one of nervous pleading. Marietta smiled at her, and walked around behind the chair. She then turned around facing the back of Padma's head. Marietta leaned in close to Padma's ear, and whispered softly.

"It's going to be a really horrible, tragic death too. Your probably going to be the first person in five years to be killed by a Bogart. Imagine that… _to be killed by your worst nightmare._ Padma started breathing heavily, as she looked back at Marietta and struggled again to free herself. She pleaded to be let go, still not believing that Marietta was serious, but genuinely being creeped out by Marietta's scary tone and behavior. Padma started to cry.

"Marietta please let me go, I won't tell anyone that you tied me down in here, and I just want to go back to my room. Marietta suddenly gave Padma a tight hug from behind that made Padma think that she intended to let her go.

"Ooooh Padma, you don't know how sorry I am that this has to happen. Your family is pureblood, and we need people like you, but… but we need Potter out of school, and sacrifices must be made. Sort of like wizard chest you know. Sometimes you have to sacrifice the important pieces to put the king in check. I will miss you, even though we didn't talk much I will miss having any pureblood in my house." Marietta said softly, and then kissed Padma on the cheek.

"Marietta, we don't have time for this, you haven't ghost proofed this room yet, do it now or one of them could float by at any moment and discover us." Seamus said agitated. Marietta rolled her eyes.

"Oh, alright love. Oh! You did zap everyone in Potter's dorm room with the sleeping spell tonight right?" Marietta asked concerned.

"Yes of coarse, just like we did with her and her friends. They'll still be out by the time I get back with Potter's wand." Padma noticed for the first time that is was Seamus Finnegan in the room with Marietta.

"Finnegan, please, you're a friend of my sister, you wouldn't do anything to harm me right? Please make her let me go! I'm scared." Padma pleaded. Seamus seemed not to hear her, or not to care. Marietta looked around the room one last time.

"Alright, let me take care of something first." Marietta said as she walked over to the wall adjacent to the corridor. Marietta waved her wand and cast a spell removing a single black brick from the middle of the wall. She grabbed it and set it on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Seamus said visibly upset. Marietta turned her head, tossing her hair.

"Well I want to watch this from outside. I've never seen anyone killed by their worst nightmare before. Should be fun." Marietta said casually.

" **What are you talking about! Oh god!"** Padma started screaming **… "Help, help, their going to kill me!"** Marietta ran over to Padma, and covered her mouth with her hand. I thought that I told you to _be quite!_ Marietta said through gritted teeth. Padma mumbled something incoherent through Marietta's hand.

"What was that Padma?" Marietta asked. Padma repeated something but because Marietta had her hand over her mouth she could not be understood.

"Ha, opps, forgot. Now if you promise not to scream, I'll remove my hand, if you do scream, I'll take away your voice… understand?" Marietta asked. Padma nodded tears streaming from her eyes.

"Good then are we agreed that you won't scream?" Marietta asked. Padma again nodded her head, and Marietta lifted her hand.

"Marietta please don't kill me, you said you liked purebloods, I'm a pure blood, you'll be killing one of your own, look I'll join your society thingy, please I want to live, please don't kill me!" Padma pleaded for her life.

"Oh, but dear… I'm not going to lay a finger on you, neither is Seamus, you're going to be killed by _Harry Potter_." Marietta said with a sadistic smile.

"What, are you kidding me? Harry would never do that." Padma said.

"Oh, I'm afraid that he would, he already almost killed Cindy Miggins, and threatened you and Miller. I'm afraid that he's gone _quite insane_. But you'll have a chance to talk with him yourself; after all… he brought you down here." Marietta finished her voice light and cheerful. Padma looked up at her with disbelief.

"Marietta… you two brought me here." Padma said still crying. Marietta smiled and ran her hand through Padma's dark hair, while raising her wand with the other.

"No dear, Harry Potter brought you here. Let me help you remember." Marietta finished. She recited a memory charm, and a yellow beam emitted from her wand, and covered Padma's head. "Now, your last memory was that Harry Potter convinced you that he had apologized to Allen Miller for threatening you, and had invited you to a party down here where Allen Miller was waiting for you, but when he brought you down here he tied you up, and left you for a moment. Do you understand?" Marietta asked.

"Yes, Potter invited me down here, and tied me up." Padma said in a slurred voice. Marietta smiled.

"Good girl and you don't remember ever meeting Seamus or myself tonight at all. You met Harry after you snuck out… got it?" Marietta finished. Padma nodded. Marietta then proceeded to clear up any evidence in the room, with the spell to cover up evidence that she had used so often. She shot sparks over the ceiling, walls, and floor. Finally she went to the wall where she had removed the brick, and added a glass pain to it.

"How long do we have before the spell wears off, and they would be able to see things that happen in the room again Marietta?" Seamus asked concerned.

"Only moments, so, get under the invisibility cloak with me now!" Marietta, said. Seamus did so and they moved out of the room, and over to the outside wall to where the window made by Marietta was positioned. Seamus looked at Marietta under the cloak.

"How much evidence will be erased? Everything?" He asked.

"Everything for about two to three hours before, but it doesn't matter, because nothing much happens in the room anyway. The time we were in there will be erased." Marietta replied.

"But it will not show that Potter tied her up. If the Masters look at her in there with their magic, it will show Potter walking in and finding her in there, but not going in with her." Seamus said. Marietta rolled her eyes. It would have cost too much time, and we don't have that. Besides if you explain everything as Potter, then they won't worry about it. Just be convincing. Now we should wait about ten minutes to make sure that when the masters eventually find her that they see Potter enter the room. Now turn into him, and get ready." Marietta finished. Seamus dissolved into a clear blob, for a moment, and then reformed into a naked Harry Potter, his clothes had fallen through his blob form, but he was still under the cloak. He carefully put the clothes back on underneath it, but it was hard to do, his legs stuck out several times. After he had finally been able to get dressed under the invisibility cloak, Marietta had decided that enough time had passed. The figure that was now Harry Potter lifted off the cloak so that only Marietta was concealed, and entered the room. As before Padma was tied to the chair, and struggling to get out, with no effect. She looked up, not surprised to see him, after all in her mind it was Harry Potter who had tied her up.

" **Harry, let me out of here! Why did you tie me up? Why have you brought me here? This isn't the party, and I'm scared."** Padma said with a quivering voice.

" **I tied you up Bitch** … because, I hate purebloods like you. You people act like your better than everyone else, and I take a lot of flack from the Slytherins about not being completely pure. That's why I zapped that Slytheren boy on the train, and that's why I'm going to hurt you. You and Miller think that you can yell at me and get away with it? Do you know how angry I was? That was insulting, arguing with me like that. I'm going to make all you purebloods pay; I'm going to make sure that there is no place in the wizarding world for any of you. One by one, I'm going to take you all out." Harry said angrily to a sobbing Padma. She looked up at him.

"Harry what are you talking about? Your best friend is a pureblood. You don't have anything against us! Why are you doing this?" Padma pleaded, her face turning pale. Harry gave her a sinister smile.

"You see though Padma, that's just it. If my best friend is a pureblood, then no one will suspect that _I'm_ the one who's about to start killing the other purebloods, and lead the non purebloods against everyone. Of course, there are a few other Muggleborn and half bloods working with me, but it's my grand design to get rid of you people. It's partial revenge for all the crap I've taken from Slytheren all these years. My revenge will be getting rid of all of you." Harry boasted. Padma looked at Harry with disbelief.

"Harry, you and Ron, and my sister and me… we all went to the Yule ball together the year before last, you're not yourself. What's going on?" Padma pleaded.

"You made me look bad in the Yule ball committee, that's what's going on! And you have to be punished for that. That's what's going on. Do you really think that you can do that to me and I wouldn't do anything about it?" Harry said angrily.

"Harry I'm sorry, I didn't know… that it upset you so much, I'll apologize in front of… the whole committee, I promise, just please let me out of here." Padma pleaded again with tears flowing down her eyes.

"Too little, too late!" Harry replied with rage. He took the chair across from Padma. "Now I'm going to tell you why I really brought you down here, why I lied to you about apologizing to Allen Miller, and how I'm going to kill you Padma. Harry went into a brief summary about Bogart's, which was _almost_ word for word what Marietta said before she erased the memory from Padma's mind. Marietta looked at them through the window, and then glanced at her watch. It was getting very late.

"Hurry up you fool!" she whispered to herself. Finally Harry walked behind Padma, and pushed her chair up closer to the shaking file cabinet. Everyone could imagine the Bogart getting nervous. Padma still struggled to get out of her chair, crying hysterically at knowing her intended fate. She begged for her life, but Harry said nothing. Harry used his wand to levitate the chair even closer to the cabinet. Marietta watched with a smile, she felt excited, and a little guilty because of it, Padma being a pureblood and all. But she was almost drooling at the mouth with anticipation. Harry raised his wand a final time and backed away from Padma.

"What's your biggest fear Padma?" He asked. Padma said nothing, but looked up in horror at the file cabinet in front of her. Harry pointed his wand at the cabinet. **"Alohomora!"** Harry shouted and in the same instant the drawer to the cabinet opened and, the deadly swarm came out. The initial scream, and those that followed it, sent chills up Marietta's lovers spine, and he left the room swatting away the objects of Padma's torment. He closed the door behind him, and felt around for the invisibility cloak. He found it quickly by the window. Marietta hadn't moved from her spot. She looked transfixed at the spot where Padma sat dieing a horrible death. Finally she looked down. Harry had turned into the blob, as soon as he was under the cloak, and then reformed into Seamus.

"Disgusting! Poor girl. I didn't know it would be that bad." Seamus said genuinely horrified. Marietta looked back through the window one last time, and turned to Seamus with a look of euphoria on her face.

"Fascinating creatures Bogarts… Fascinating!" she said overjoyed. Seamus looked at her as if she were a stranger to him, it was one of the worst deaths that he had encountered in his long life, but Marietta seemed to enjoy every minute of it. Suddenly her lover felt slightly afraid of Marietta.

"Come on, we have to get back to our respective common rooms. I have to pretend to sleep, and you have to change the paintings back." He said. Marietta nodded.

"Very well love. I'll leave you now, and take the cloak. After I've gone turn into Potter, and go back to your dorm. Don't try to keep to the shadows this time. If someone catches you out, just run back to your dorm room where the real Potter is, and they can deal with you, err him then." The two murders went their separate ways, the shape shifter once again having to redress after transitioning to his blob form and back to Potter. Finally he made it to the Portrait of the fat lady and gave the pass word. From there he made his way to his dorm room, and made sure that everyone was asleep. He looked at Harry for a moment; he was tossing in his sleep and telling Allen Miller that he didn't mean what he was saying.

"Poor bastard; The nightmare you'll have in great detail tomorrow." The fake Harry said to the real Harry. Fake Harry took out Harry's wand and placed it on the nightstand next to the one that he had planted on Harry the last time that he was in filches office. Harry than took the fake wand and walked over to the window. He opened the window, and threw the wand out. Harry then melted to a blob, and then reformed as Seamus Finnigan, and crawled into bed, and pretended to sleep. Meanwhile Marietta had unfrozen all the pictures in the Ravenclaw common room, and stuffed the invisibility cloak under her bed. _She slept well._


End file.
